Learning to Fall
by ana-molly
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Alayna Roberts finds herself hostile and moving halfway across the country when her mother passes away. Will she let down her guard for a family of beautiful strangers? What happens when she develops a weird way of communicating? JasxOC
1. A New House

**A/N: First chapter! Let me know what you think? Thanks :]  
**

It was already well past midnight when the dark blue Honda passed the sign saying "Welcome to Forks". Alayna Roberts stared angrily out the window as the social worker drove her to her new "home". All her life, she had lived in a small walk-up apartment in New York City, but after her mother passed from a long, painful battle with cancer and because her father didn't want her, she had been taken by the state and thrown into the home of her next closest blood relative- her mother's younger sister.

Amy Roberts had been more than willing to take her niece, but Alayna hadn't been more than willing to go. The especially painful part for Alayna had been moving from New York, where she had two loving best friends, her attitude was welcomed and people either openly cared or didn't even pretend to, to tiny little Forks, Washington where everyone would know her, lie to her, and pretend to care about what happened to her just to pry into her life. If there was something Alayna hated more than her father, it was a false pretense.

"We're here!" Marie Engall, the overly enthusiastic social worker assigned to Alayna's case, announced as she pulled up a long, winding driveway. Marie- as she insisted Alayna call her- continued to jabber as Alayna rolled her eyes, grabbed her duffel bag from the back seat and slammed the car door probably harder than necessary. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she followed Marie up the steep drive and to the front door of the gorgeous two-story, brick house that stood in front of them. Before either of them could reach the door, a tall thin woman burst through it, throwing her curly blonde hair into a sloppy bun.

Alayna's eyes filled with tears and her heart clenched painfully as she took in the sight of her mother's sister. The two women had been best friends as well as family, and they looked so similar that Alayna knew it would be a while before it stopped hurting to look at her aunt. When Amy Roberts looked her niece in the eye, she expected her to cry, so she took the shorter girl by the shoulders and crushed her to her chest in a tight hug. She hadn't anticipated Alayna's stiffness or sudden statue-esque behavior, so when it happened, she awkwardly let go.

"I'm so sorry to hear about what happened, Alayna," Amy told her softly, trying to stare into the teen's eyes. She was surprised at all the animosity she saw there and was even more surprised when Alayna opened her mouth to speak.

"You hadn't called us back in five years, Amy," she said harshly, "so who are you to tell me you're sorry?" Alayna nearly winced at her tone, though. She didn't _want_ to be so angry, but with all that had happened it seemed to be all she could hold on to. Amy's eyes widened, but she quickly masked her surprise.

"Be angry with me," Amy stated firmly, "that's fine."

"I had planned on it," Alayna countered rudely. Amy stretched her arm out, welcoming her niece into her home, and Alayna stormed right by her.

"But don't you dare be angry with your mother." Amy's sentence stopped Alayna cold. She didn't turn, didn't move except for her hair blowing in the wind. If the wind had been any louder, Amy wouldn't have heard her niece's quiet reply.

"It's so hard not to be." Pretending she hadn't heard, Amy said good-bye to Marie, who was awkwardly standing nearby, not sure what to do. After Marie left, Amy walked back inside to find Alayna standing in the middle of the entryway.

"Just drop your bag here," Amy suggested gently, "and I'll show you around." Amy bit her bottom lip, waiting for another blow-out, but was pleasantly surprised when Alayna lowered her beaten red duffel bag to the shiny, wooden floor. Amy pointed immediately to her left to show Alayna the small sitting room adorned elegantly with stiff couches and uncomfortable looking chairs.

"Then there's the dining room," she explained, gesturing to the right.

"The kitchen," she said as they walked through a large, airy room off the dining room decorated completely in black and white.

"The living room," Amy explained, spreading her arms wide and walking into a large room plushly decorated with comfortable-looking furniture and warm red and gold hues. The first thing Alayna noticed wasn't the furniture or the colors, though. It was the theater system. The far wall was shelved from top to bottom, side to side and each shelf was crammed full; the top half with DVDs and the bottom with CDs. The TV that sat opposite the couches was large and flat-screened and sitting on either sides of it were entertainment centers filled with video game systems and their games. Of course, a DVD player sat atop one of the cabinets to play her huge collection of movies. Alayna's eyes bugged out in shock.

"Where in the world did you get all those DVDs?" the shorter girl finally asked. Amy was pleased that Alayna was starting to open up to her.

"Didn't anyone tell you what I do for a living?" Amy asked curiously. Alayna just shook her head, a confused frown on her face.

"I'm a movie editor," she explained, "and most of these movies, I helped create in some way. Although I will admit, some were gifts and others were purchased." As much as Alayna wanted to deny it, she knew she was warming up to the woman who so reminded her of what she had lost. Alayna smiled for the first time since leaving New York, and Amy smiled back.

"What do you say we finish the rest of this tour?" Amy asked with a twinkle in her eye, "I have a surprise or two for you." She led Alayna up the stairs and turned left into a large study. Two of the four walls were lined with books upon books and a puffy chair sat behind a massive desk that was cluttered with piles of paperwork.

"Sorry about the mess," Amy apologized, "it's for a project I'm working on right now." Alayna smiled again.

"Don't worry about it," she said, trailing the fingers of her left hand over the books on one wall. She was absolutely speechless.

"Amy," she started, "this place is perfect." Amy just smiled and leaned against the door jamb. Alayna turned to look at her aunt, her long, stick-straight brown hair swirling over her shoulder and her bright blue eyes expressing the thanks she wasn't ready to verbalize.

"Come on, Lay, let me show you your room," Amy said, her eyes sparkling. Alayna followed Amy out of the study and down the hall, flinching at the use of the nickname. They passed by one room that Alayna figured was Amy's, and stopped at the door at the end of the hall, Amy turning to face the shorter girl with her hand still on the doorknob. She bit her lip nervously and Alayna knew she probably looked bewildered because Amy's cheeks stained slightly red and she looked away.

"I just really hope you like it," she said nervously. Alayna found herself laughing fully and playfully pushing her aunt's shoulder.

"Of course I will!" Amy's smile returned and she awkwardly twisted the doorknob, thrusting the door open. Alayna's jaw dropped open. She walked past Amy and into the spacious, beautiful room. The walls were bright green with a yellow stripe around the top. A queen sized bed stuck out from one wall, and was decorated with the same bright green color, her pillows and comforter lined in a buttery yellow similar to the stripe on her wall. Next to the bed stood a small, wooden nightstand with a lamp on it. On the wall across from the bed sat a large desk with a brand new Mac laptop perched atop it. Over the desk, attached to the wall was a sturdy looking shelf with a few novels on it. She recognized a few of her favorite titles and wondered if Marie had sent Amy most of the things Alayna had thought she had to leave behind. She was about to fall backwards onto her bed with its thousand pillows and comfy looking blankets when she saw Amy bouncing out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" Alayna asked slowly, turning her head. Amy was practically dancing as she pointed to the double doors next to the desk. A smile crossed Alayna's features as she slowly reached for one of the doorknobs.

"You want me to go in here?" Alayna asked, overloading her face with fake confusion. Amy just bounced more and nodded. "Well... What's in here?" she was stalling and Amy knew it.

"Just open the door!" Amy bellowed as she sprang at the smaller girl. Alayna covered her head, laughing hysterically.

"Okay, okay! I'll open the door!" Alayna flung the doors open and gasped. She was sure that this was the largest closet anyone ever had. It was a wide room and both sides were lined with clothes, separated by fabric and then ordered in the colors of the rainbow.

"_Amy_," Alayna breathed, "it's perfect." Amy stood behind her, no longer bouncing.

"You really like it?" Amy asked.

"Of course I do!" Alayna exclaimed happily, "but you didn't have to do all of this for me." Amy cocked her head to the side and brushed hair from her niece's face.

"I feel bad," she said, "that I was never there for you or your mother. I should have been there with you to help take care of her." Alayna stiffened and pulled away at the mention of her mother.

"It's fine," she said, looking down and effectively pulling her face from her aunt's hand. Amy sighed and dropped her hand.

"It's okay to miss her," Amy told Alayna, "but I'm scared you're always going to close up when someone mentions her." Alayna looked back up at her aunt, fury in her eyes and a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Of course I _miss_ her, she's my mother," she spit out. Alayna stormed out of the closet and flopped face-first onto her bed. Amy watched her go before exiting the closet herself and shutting both doors quietly behind her.

"You'd better get some sleep," Amy said, her soft voice seeming loud in the silent room. "You start school tomorrow." Alayna ignored her but turned on her side, facing away from the door, and curled into a ball. Tears streamed down her face as soon as she heard Amy shut her bedroom door, and sleep soon overtook her.


	2. A New School

**A/N: Forgot to mention the obvious: I own nothing you recognize. I do, however, own what you've never heard of (in this story at least haha). I had something else to say, but I can't seem to remember what. Tell me about your lives, because I really do want to hear :] OH, and read & review please? xo Ana**

Her brand new alarm clock woke her up the next morning for school. _Amy must have set it after I fell asleep_, she concluded. Alayna moved slightly and felt an odd stiffness to her lower back. _Probably from sleeping in a ball, _she thought wryly as she stretched herself out, then began her normal morning routine. After going for a jog around the neighborhood and nearly getting lost, she brushed her teeth, washed her face and showered quickly, dressing in jeans that fit her remarkably well and a soft, blue sweater that she hoped would make her eyes look brighter and less sleepy. She threw a touch of black liner around her eyes and brushed out her long, dark hair, leaving it down around her. Cautiously, she crept down the stairs, not knowing if Amy was awake, and not wanting to wake her if she wasn't. When she reached the kitchen, however, she saw a note and a set of keys on the counter and felt silly creeping around- Amy wasn't even there. _Alayna_, it read in Amy's careful handwriting.

_Sorry I couldn't be here when you woke up, Pete called me in to the office to talk about that new project you saw spread out in the study. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of buying you a car. It's nothing too special, but it's something to get you from Point A to Point B. Car keys and the house key are on the same ring, so don't be like me and lose them every two seconds! Directions to the school are at the bottom- I know high school sucks, but try to have fun and meet some people! See you later tonight! I should be home around six._

_Amy_

Alayna felt her throat constrict. No matter what she did or how hurtful of words she threw at her aunt, the woman never stopped loving her. After scouring the refrigerator and deciding on a simple blueberry bagel for breakfast, Alaya quickly ate and grabbed the keys off the counter. Locking the door behind her, she turned to the driveway.

"Woah," she said, spying the car she had run past without a second thought almost an hour before, "That's nothing special?!" Sitting in the drive was a bright blue Dodge Avenger, looking completely accessorized, and only a few years old. Alayna quickly hopped into the car, knowing she had just fallen in love with a vehicle. Her aunt's directions in hand, she made the short trip to the school and parked facing the world's largest truck. She got out of her car the same time the truck's owner got out of hers. _Oh great_, Alayna thought as she heard murmurs, _the locals are already talking_. The girl with the over-sized truck was openly staring at her car and Alayna shrugged sheepishly.

"Welcome to Forks present from my aunt," she explained. To her surprise the girl burst into laughter and patted her truck.

"Welcome to Forks present from my dad," she said. Alayna was soon laughing with her, relieved that at least she could make one friend here.

"Wait!" the girl said. Alayna jerked her head up. "I think I remember seeing this car across the street from my house!" the girl continued. Alayna's eyes were wide. Was it possible that her new friend lived so close?

"Two story brick house next to the woods?" Alayna asked. The girl's head bobbed up and down.

"I'm Bella Swan," she offered. Alayna smiled at her new friend.

"Alayna Roberts," she said, "nice to meet you, Bella." Alayna let her new friend lead her to the main office building, chatting lightly with her the whole way, and Bella even stayed with her while the secretary sorted out her paperwork.

"I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, dear," the secretary cooed. "Such a tragedy. If you need anything, you go ahead and let me know." Alayna cringed and took the paperwork from the woman.

"Thanks but no thanks, Mrs. Cope," she said icily, reading the name plate on the woman's desk. She whirled around and left with Bella hurriedly. Alayna was more than a little surprised when Bella didn't even mention what had just happened. Instead, she reached for Alayna's schedule and read off the classes.

"English- I have English first, too, but not with the same teacher- Spanish, Bio, Calculus- wow, good luck there- History and Gym. Looks like we've got Gym together, but I don't know if that's a good thing," Bella said, making a face. Alayna couldn't help but laugh.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"You'll see when we get there, but I'm warning you, it won't be pretty." With that, Bella left Alayna outside her English class with a quick, "Find me at lunch!" and Alayna wandered into the room, hearing all the murmurs still as she walked up to the teacher and handed her the slip that Mrs. Cope had given her to have signed by her teachers. _Don't these people ever shut up,_ she wondered as she sat in a desk near the back. A couple more people began filing in as the bell rang, a boy and a girl catching her attention. They looked similar enough to be brother and sister, but not similar enough to be twins. The boy was _huge_, she noted with a cringe, hoping she never made him angry, and the girl was as tiny as Alayna herself, even when not compared to the giant next to her.

"Alice," the boy complained lightly as he plopped into his sear, "it's not my fault you don't understand the finer points of Guitar Hero!"Alayna couldn't contain the snort of laughter that came out and the boy looked at her quickly, letting her know he'd heard her. The girl- Alice- just pursed her lips as she sat delicately beside him.

"You're right, Emmett," she agreed, "I don't. So why did you make me play for _four hours _last night?" Emmett mumbled something incoherent and Alice slid closer to him.

"What was that, big brother?" she teased. Emmett gave a huge sigh.

"I was hoping you'd catch on!" he repeated. Alayna liked these two already and could still hear Emmett mumbling as the teacher tried to quiet the class down. Come to think of it, he had mumbled throughout the whole class period. English came easy to Alayna and with the first sentence of the teacher's lecture, she knew this would be a cinch. She jumped when the bell broke her out of her reverie, and slid out of her chair to grab her note from the teacher. Not watching where she was going, she collided with a giant, rock-solid, freezing cold body. She immediately moved back so she wasn't touching the guy, tensing her entire body. She looked up to see giant Emmett standing before her. Side-stepping him gracefully, she mumbled an apology before continuing. She grabbed her signed slip and turned to leave, confused when she still saw Emmett standing there. She cocked her head at him, not understanding why he hadn't left. He held her schedule between his huge hands.

"Spanish next? Me too, let's go together! I'm Emmett." All of his words jumbled together to form one long stream as she knitted her eyebrows together, slowly dissecting it to find that he wanted to walk with her to their next class.

"Sure," she said, "I'm Alayna."

"Great," he said, walking next to her. She rubbed her forehead as the fuzzy murmurs continued through her head while they walked down the hall and Emmett looked down at her, concerned.

"Headache?" he asked. She shook her head.

"More like wanting to punch everyone who's talking about me in the face," she admitted. Emmett filled the hallway with his boisterous laugh and she couldn't help but laugh with him.

"I like you already!" he praised as they entered their next class. Emmett sat down while Alayna gave the teacher her slip of paper. Alayna couldn't help but giggle when she saw that Emmett was too big to look comfortable in his desk. She sat next to him, still giggling. He must have realized why she was laughing, because he smiled down at her.

"You'll have to get used to not having personal space when I'm around," he said openly, making Alayna's giggles heighten into hysterics. They laughed together until the teacher hushed them. They pushed their desks together and passed notes all hour, trying to see who could make the other laugh out loud. Emmett almost had Alayna with a joke about the Energizer Bunny, but she ended up turning it into a coughing fit and asking Senora if she could get a drink of water from the fountain in the hall. By the time class ended, she and Emmett had been ready to burst. When the bell rang, Alayna grabbed her paper from her teacher and bolted for the hall. Emmett was already waiting for her and she almost fell over him as he went to walk beside her, each gasping to breathe in between laughs. Emmett left Alayna to look for her class on her own while he booked it to his own next class.

"Before I forget!" he yelled after her, "Alice is in your Bio class and Jasper's in your Calc class, so I'll tell them to look for you. If you suck as bad at those as you do at Spanish, you'll need our help all year!" Alayna turned to gawk at Emmett.

"Do you have to yell my academic weaknesses to everyone in the hallway, Sasquatch?!" she yelled back. Emmett just laughed hysterically, paying her no mind. Alayna ended up getting lost and talking to herself as she tried to locate her biology class.

"Effing great," she muttered. "Emmett leaves me alone for five effing seconds and I'm already effing lost. What kind of person gets lost in a school this effing small anyway?!" By the end of her tirade, she was yelling at no one, and many of the students in the classes around her had begun to stare out into the hallway at her. Looking down at her schedule and back up at the room numbers, she felt foolish. 302B. Whoops.

She walked in, keeping her eyes on the floor and walked to the front, where the teacher stood. She thrust her arm out with the slip of paper and Mr. Banner took it, motioning for her to take a seat. The only empty seat was next to Emmett's sister, Alice; the girl from her English class. She slid into the seat next to the pixie-sized girl at the lab table and immediately laughed. Alice frowned at her and Alayna shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

"I just spent the past hour sitting next to Emmett with zero personal space," Alayna explained, still laughing, "and I get to Bio only to sit next to the only person in the world who's as small as I am!" Both girls burst into laughter then, and Mr. Banner turned from his lecture to glare at them. Alice tore a piece of paper perfectly from her notebook and wrote neatly on it before sliding it over to Alayna.

_I didn't catch your name, _it read. Alayna smiled and wrote her first and last name on the paper before sliding it back. Alice beamed, writing her name too, before sending it back. Before she could stop herself, Alayna wrote a sentence back to Alice that she never would have thought she'd admit.

_I need a friend, Alice._ Alice smiled a smile that was way too big for her small face.

_I know,_ she wrote back, _and I think we can help you there_. The bell rang before Alayna could ask who 'we' was, signaling the end of class. Grabbing her paper from Mr. Banner, Alayna dashed out the door to find that Alice had already disappeared somewhere in the crowd. By the time Alayna got to Calc, everyone else was already there!

"What the crap?" she muttered, walking up the aisle to hand her slip to the teacher, "I'm always the last one everywhere." She wasn't surprised when she turned to face the class and saw only one empty seat. Without looking at who was sitting on either side of her, she plopped down and buried her face in her arms.

"I effing hate math," she mumbled, her voice muffled by her sweater. A deep chuckle penetrated her self-pity, and the most beautiful voice made her feel warm all over.

"It's only your first day," the voice told her, "how could you already hate it?" Alayna turned her head to look at him, but what she saw made her sit up straight. It was amazing she could still form coherent thoughts when she looked at his face. His blonde hair was pleasantly disheveled, sticking up adorably in all the right places like he had just run his hand through it. His eyes, sparkling and trained directly on hers, were a beautiful shade of gold that was only slightly lighter than butterscotch. His skin was pale, smooth, and flawless, just like Em- ah.

"You must be Jasper," she said. He cocked his head to the side with a semi-confused frown.

"Who exactly has been talking about me?" he asked, his frown turning into a sexy half-smile. Alayna just laughed, her bright eyes sparkling.

"I have two classes with Emmett and two with Alice," she laughed. "Although with Emmett's ridiculously loud performance in the hall a couple hours ago, I'm sure half the school knows I suck at life and that he offered you to help me study. Hi, I'm Alayna." As if on cue, the guy in front of her whirled around.

"I'm sure he couldn't be bothered to help you." The boy was nearly undressing her with his eyes- was he insane? "I, on the other hand, have plenty of free time to help you out." Alayna could feel her body ice at his suggestion, although she felt much more fury than she normally would have. Pushing it down, she leaned closer, hoping to lure the boy in.

"I'm sorry," she purred, "I didn't catch your name." He started breathing heavily and bewilderment edged into her mood. What was with her emotions?

"Matt... Matt.. I'm... I'm Matt." He was finally able to stutter out his name and she just smiled, leaning a little closer.

"Well, Matt," she said, setting her lips in a slight pout, "I'm afraid if you have that much free time, you might want to get a hobby." With that, she sat up and looked back at Jasper, whose face looked torn between pride, fury and amusement. She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Alright over there, sunshine?" she prompted, causing him to stop glaring at her admirer and look back at her sheepishly.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Guys like him just make me sick." Jasper took no precautions to keep his voice low, and they both knew the boy could hear them. Alayna simply rolled her eyes.

"Oh please," she scoffed, "I'd like to think I have more brains and even more class than to go for a guy with no hobbies." The boy in front of her slid down in his seat and Jasper laughed openly. Alayna decided then that anything she could do to bring out that laugh, she would do. She was oddly and unreasonably sure that the sound of his laugh would be the only thing to make her _really_ happy. Their conversation was cut short by their teacher's attempts to claim their attention, and unlike Emmett and Alice, Jasper let her pay attention. Paying attention didn't help her though, as she was utterly clueless by the time class had ended. When the bell rang, instead of hurrying to stand and find her next class, she simply folded her arms on her desk and let her head drop into them. Jasper chuckled lightly at her antics, but didn't stand either.

"Please, go!" she wailed dramatically, "spare yourself from my idiocy!" She heard the rustle of his clothes and knew he had turned to face her.

"You're not an idiot," he told her. "It's okay to need help sometimes." She picked up her head and smiled cheerfully at him.

"Does that mean you'll explain to me everything that just happened?"


	3. A New Best Friend or A New Confusion

Jasper waited for Alayna to grab her signed first-day paper from their Calculus teacher before walking with her down the hall to the cafeteria. He was keeping a measurable distance from her, she noticed. More than Emmett, and although she hadn't walked with Alice, the girl had sat fairly close to her at their lab table. Closer than Jasper, at least. She was busily wondering if she had somehow offended the beautiful man walking semi-next to her when he smiled at her suddenly. She realized that she had been zoning out through their entire walk to the lunch room, and she wondered what Jasper thought of her not paying attention to him.

"Shall we?" he asked. Alayna grinned with him.

"We shall," she said, just as politely.

"I would sit with you," he said, "but my family has a thing about us all sitting together, and while Alice and Emmett like you, my sister Rosalie doesn't do so well with new people." They were walking through the lunch room and Alayna was sure everyone was watching them.

"It's cool," she said, "I have to find Bella anyway." Jasper smirked at her.

"New kid alliance?" he asked. Alayna rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," she informed him with a playful glare. Laughing, they separated. Somehow, no matter how early Alayna had thought they were, half the school had beaten them to the cafeteria. She rolled her eyes, smiling involuntarily when Emmett and Alice smiled at her, Emmett waving enthusiastically as the flawlessly beautiful blonde girl beside him glared at her. _Probably Rosalie_, she thought.

Thankfully, Alayna spotted Bella soon after and at the girl's beckoning, she hightailed it over to her.

"Ah! I have so much to tell you!" she said quickly as soon as she sat down. Bella introduced her to everyone sitting around them, then smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"It's been three hours," Bella told her, "What could you possibly have to tell me?" Alayna laughed, but before she could speak, Bella stopped her.

"Before I forget," she said, "I want to thank you. People aren't talking about me so much anymore. They're more concerned with you now." Alayna laughed at Bella's realization before raising an eyebrow with a half-smile on her face.

"Happy to be of service?" she said, forming her sentence like a question. A girl leaned over to Bella suddenly.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," she said, matter-of-factly. Bella's head snapped to the direction in which the Cullens were sitting, and Alayna knew instantly that she would clash with this eavesdropping girl. She couldn't help but turn up the ice.

"The only way you would know is if you were staring first," Alayna pointed out, faking cheerfulness that she hoped the other girl could see through. "I'm Alayna. Jessica, right?" The girl nodded, turning to hide her red face from Alayna's obviously forced friendliness. If he hadn't been so far away, Alayna would have sworn Emmett was laughing with her, not at something else. Alayna turned her attention back to Bella, who looked too relieved for words.

"So tell me about your day," Alayna begged of her new friend. Bella looked at her as if she were crazy.

"It was pretty boring," she said. "What about these things you had to tell me?" Alayna launched into the story of her first classes, meeting Emmett and Alice, and about Jasper promising to help her in Calculus.

"It's really my worst subject ever," she groaned, "I don't know why I signed up for it." Bella grinned at her.

"Well, you've got good study partners in all your classes," Jessica said, leaning over to join their conversation again. "All the Cullens are ridiculously smart." Alayna just rolled her eyes, feeling suddenly too lazy to fight with this girl. Why were her emotions so weird? Normally, she would have come up with a fantastic comeback. Instead, she glared at the eavesdropper and Jessica turned around again.

"Speaking of all things Cullen," Alayna continued to Bella, dropping her voice to just above a whisper, "what's with Edward's sudden staring problem?" Bella's cheeks were instantly red with unspoken embarrassment.

"He hates me," she said quietly. With as much stealth as possible, Alayna peeked over at the Cullens' table. It was possible Edward had just witnessed a train wreck with the way he appeared to not be able to look away, although Edward was staring in a good way, not the horrified expression he would have had in the train wreck situation. Alayna snorted and Bella looked at her.

"What was that for?" Bella demanded.

"He doesn't look angry," Alayna assured her. Bella still looked doubtful.

"Then what does he look like?" she asked quietly. Alayna hit her arm playfully.

"Why don't you look for yourself?" she asked incredulously. Bella's eyes slowly made contact with Edward's just as the bell rang and he swiftly left the cafeteria. Bella cast her eyes down again and Alayna threw her arm around her friend's shoulders and squeezed.

"I'm sorry, Bella," she said.

"It's not your fault he hates me, Alayna." Bella said softly as both girls stood. Alayna shot her an exasperated look.

"He doesn't hate you!" she exploded. Bella jumped about a foot in the air.

"But he just-"

"But nothing! Do you have any other classes with him?"

"Biology."

"Good. Talk to him when you get there, and I bet you'll find out how right I am. But for now, I'm off to History!" Bella smiled a little and watched Alayna walk away before heading to her own class. To her surprise, Jasper was in her History class, too. He smiled in greeting.

"Do you also feel inadequate in this class?" he asked cheekily. Alayna snorted out a laugh.

"Actually," she said, "you might find me tutoring you in here!" Jasper eyed her with one eyebrow carefully arched.

"I'm not sure about that," he said. "We'll just have to see." Just like their last class, Jasper let her pay attention, and she even answered a few questions correctly. After class, he waited for her to grab her slip from their teacher and walked down the hall with her, keeping the same distance as before.

"I have to turn here," he told her suddenly. "Where are you headed?"

"Gym," she informed him, her face lighting up. He looked slightly taken aback.

"You like gym?" he asked. Her smile only grew.

"I run, I hike, and I absolutely love sports. Hockey and soccer make me happier than anything else in the world could possibly make me." He looked amused at his new discovery about her.

"I can see why you get along with Emmett so well. Our family plays a lot of baseball," he said with a smile, "but I think the only reason I like it so much is because we're all together." She nodded, quickly understanding that family was everything to Jasper. She smiled up at him and tossed her hair over her shoulder gently. His eyes darkened and his entire face changed. Given a little more time, she might have been scared, but Emmett and Alice came out of nowhere fast, Emmett tackling into the side of Jasper _hard_ and Alice calling out a goodbye to Alayna. Confused, Alayna made her way to Gym, making a mental note to ask Bella if she'd noticed anything..off .. about the Cullen family.

Alayna found her gym teacher quickly, who informed her that she could sit out her first day if she wished, but they were playing volleyball, and Alayna had been pretty good in her New York high school. At Bella's silent pleas, she changed into her gym clothes and went to stand by her. The others on their team looked wary of Bella, and Alayna wondered just how horrible Bella was at this. For the first serve, Alayna let Bella go on her own. Bad idea, she quickly realized when Bella managed to bounce the ball off of Mike Newton's head (who was standing _behind_ her) and nail herself in the forehead when she quickly turned to make sure Mike was okay. Alayna snorted back her laughter and addressed her team.

"I got this, guys," she informed them, holding up her arms and moving to stand right next to Bella, who looked relieved rather than offended or irritated like Alayna feared.

"Thank you," she breathed. "That was getting out of hand." Alayna laughed at her friend, her eyes never leaving the ball.

"No problem. Tell me something, though." Alayna requested as she spiked the ball hard onto the opposing side and no one dared go near it. Bella stared at her.

"What are you- some sort of professional volleyball player?" she gaped. Alayna laughed hard.

"No, I just really like sports. You just wait until we get to field hockey." she told her with a wink. Bella laughed with her.

"So what's this you want me to tell you?" Bella asked. She put her hands on her hips for lack of anything else to do with them. Alayna dared a quick glance at her before placing her hands on her thighs, resting the weight of her upper body on them as she bent slightly and turning her eyes back to the ball.

"Tell me I'm not the only one who notices something is definitely off with the Cullens," she said, her voice so low that Bella nearly fell into her trying to hear her low tone. Once she heard, she stood up straight.

"No," she said thoughtfully, "but until you brought it up, I thought I was crazy." Alayna spiked the ball again- another point for their team. While they rotated positions, both girls making up one position, Alayna looked directly at Bella while Mike prepared to serve.

"Trust me," she said, "you are definitely not crazy." They finished the game- Alayna scoring three more points- and quickly changed back into their school clothes. Alayna and Bella walked out to their cars together, oddly following each other home. Sure enough, Bella lived across the street and a couple houses over from Alayna and her aunt. Alayna unlocked the house and settled on the couch to watch one of her aunt's million movies. Within the first ten minutes, she was sound asleep. Alayna awoke only when her aunt forced dinner into her and made her go upstairs to bed.

The rest of Alayna's week went by without anything out of place sticking out at her. The normalcy, however, struck her as odd. It was almost as if the Cullens somehow knew she suspected something of them. Alice and Jasper were pleasant to her, Alice in a best-girl-friend way and Jasper seeming too polite for the emotions she could see on his face, and Emmett was his usual loud, unshakable self, but his stories seemed to be too carefully edited. Although it seemed as if nothing could shake his positive outlook on life, and Alayna knew in the back of her mind that she wanted to keep him around forever, if for nothing else than to feed off of his positivity. As her first weekend in Forks approached, she realized she had absolutely zero plans. _That's okay, _she thought as she drove home from school on Friday_. Maybe Amy and I will go to Port Angeles and catch a movie or something_. She put in a movie when she got home, like she had every day that week. Only that day, she didn't fall asleep, and actually finished "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and half of "Elf" before Amy got home and they set about making dinner together.

Alayna told Amy about school, finding it easy to tell her aunt everything except for anything about Jasper. They watched more movies until Alayna fell asleep. When she woke up Saturday morning, she went for a jog around the neighborhood, waving to Bella as the girl got into her giant truck. She got back, showered and dressed quickly before settling down for a day of homework and other monotony. She went with Amy later that night to see a movie in Port Angeles, both quickly deciding against the chick flick and going with the new action film. The rest of her weekend flew by uneventfully and before she knew it, she was waking up on Monday morning.

An uneasy feeling was spreading over Alayna as she nearly sprinted to Spanish. It was only her second week of class and she was late. She hated being late; it made her uncomfortable. She could barely believe she'd missed her first (and favorite academic) class! At least Emmett was in Spanish with her, so he could fill her in. She slid into her seat next to him right as the bell rang and he immediately pushed his desk up to hers.

"Where the hell were you?" he hissed. "I was worried!" She just smiled apologetically.

"Overslept," she said with a grimace. "What'd I miss?"

"Varner talked about the proper ways to write a paper." Alayna rolled her eyes and gave him a bored look.

"You could have just said 'nothing'," she told him cheekily. The teacher called for their attention just as Emmett laughed, elbowing Alayna gently and leaving his ice cold arm touching the length of hers.

_Lame! Just when I was having fun._ Alayna froze. Emmett whipped his head to look at her. _What's her deal? _He wasn't saying anything, but _she could hear him. _

_Emmett, _she said in her head, her eyes locked intensely on her new friend's,_ can you hear me_? Emmett's eyes widened as he nodded his head slowly.


	4. A New Power

**A/N: HIHIHI! Hope you're all well! I still can't remember what I was going to say in the A/N in the last chapter haha.. Oh well, I guess it couldn't have been that important, right? :] Read & review, please! xo Ana**  
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What are you doing and how are you doing it? he asked her. She shook her head, but moved her elbow from his. Once they weren't touching, she couldn't hear him. She frowned, then put her entire hand flat on his ice cold arm. All at once, all of his thoughts were flooding her mind and by the look on his face, hers were inside his, too.

_What the fuck is going on? _she demanded. _Emmett, if you know something, I swear to God you had better tell me! _Emmett shook his head violently.

_I swear I have no idea what's going on! _he told her._ Please, Alayna. Please trust me and let me get back to you about this. There's a guy I need to talk to before I tell you any theories I have. _Alayna noticed then that he was careful about what he was thinking, and she knew it was probably to keep something from her. She nodded and moved her hand, crossing her arms over her chest. Emmett touched his shoulder to hers.

_Why'd you break the connection? _he asked curiously.

_To give you space... you know, some thoughts to yourself maybe?_

_Pfft, fuck that, _he scoffed_, let's share us a brain! _Alayna laughed out loud at that and Senora Garcia turned from writing verb tenses on the board to glare at them. Alayna immediately moved her arm.

"Senorita Roberts, Senor Cullen. Is there something you'd like to share?" The entire class turned to stare them down and Alayna barely resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands.

"Sorry, Senora," Emmett said smoothly, "I was trying to help Alayna find a way to remember the tenses and I guess the song I made up was funny." He shot the poor old woman a gorgeous smile and she blushed bright red. Of course because every faculty member at Forks High School was used to the pair racing through the halls belting out made up lyrics to the tunes of popular songs, Senora didn't find it odd that he was creating a song to help her out.

"That's quite alright, Senor. Just please keep your tutoring lessons until after class."

"Of _course,_ Senora," he promised. Senora turned back to the board and Emmett pressed his elbow to Alayna's again, both of them keeping their eyes forward although neither was paying attention.

_You really shouldn't do that, _she scolded him_. She's old, what if you give her a heart attack and she dies! Won't you feel bad?_

_Nah, _Emmett said with a mental grin,_ she's a trooper, she can handle it. _Emmett spent the remainder of the class chasing Alayna's arm around their desks as she tried to keep from touching him so she could pay attention. He tried to touch his leg to hers, but nothing happened. It seemed to them that the only way it worked was when her arm or hand touched him. When his arm finally connected with hers, she thought she felt something crack.

_Jesus Christ, body builder! _she yelped,_ I think you broke my arm! And I'm trying to pay attention here._

_Whatever, _he told her, _this is way cooler! I can tutor you in Spanish. It's so not that hard to learn. Plus, my dad- well, my adoptive dad- is a doctor, so you're set if I really did break it. Which I don't think I did. _Alayna rolled her eyes but didn't move her arm.

_So who's this guy you have to talk to? Will I get any answers before school's out? _She felt Emmett ponder it out.

_Well the guy is my brother, Edward. And I'm not really sure when I'll be able to get back to you, but I promise that I will._

Despite the total weirdness of the situation, Alayna leaned her head on Emmett's icy shoulder for a second before picking it back up.

_I know this means nothing to you, but it's weird for me to trust you like this. It's good, but it's weird. _Emmett's eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

_Why would that mean nothing to me? _he asked._ You're the only friend outside the family that I've got. _The bell rang then, scaring them both. Alayna grabbed her paper from the teacher and Emmett walked with her out the door, but they stopped there, having to go separate ways.

"I don't know how long it'll be before I'm able to get back to you about that _thing_," he told her. Then he tapped his temple and winked at her.

"But I've got your address, so if I don't get back to you in school, I'll try to stop by." She smiled up at him.

"Thank you so much, Emmett," she said, "You don't have to do this, but I really appreciate it."

"Don't have to do it?" he roared. "Of course I do! This is way too freaking cool for me to ignore." Alayna rolled her eyes at him and walked away. Alayna hurried to her Bio class with Alice and made it just before the bell rang.

As soon as Alayna sat next to her, the girl pushed her arm against hers. Her skin was just as cold as Emmett's, but that's not what concerned Alayna. What concerned her was that Alice already knew what to do.

_I talked to Emmett,_ Alice said simply, her high voice like music in Alayna's head. Alayna nodded at her.

_If you Cullens keep this up, I'll never learn anything! _she told Alice with a groan. Alice just smiled, her mouth seeming too big for her pixie-like face.

_We'll tutor you; we're good at that. Do you mind if I see how many directions we can stretch this in? It might get pretty personal. _Boy, Alice was nothing if not direct. Alayna shrugged mentally at her, getting better at simulating movements by thinking them. She felt a strange tie to Alice. Like she _wanted_ to tell the small girl about her mother's death, and coming to this awful town only to find it not really so awful. She wanted to tell her everything. As soon as she thought those things, she knew Alice could hear her and she flinched.

_Don't worry about it, _Alice trilled musically._ I trust you like that, too. Promise. Are you ready? I think I've got it. This is going to sound really strange- _Alayna snorted. What else could possibly sound strange after finding out you can talk to people _in your head _just by touching them? Alice mentally pushed her back into their conversation.

_Plenty of things are weirder than this, _Alice told her vaguely._ Plus, I'm not sure you can talk to anyone like this, just our family. We're different, but that's a story for another time. Now listen- your mind has what I can only describe as a pull-tab. Do you understand what I'm saying?_

_Not really._

_I mean that all I have to do is yank and I'll have your entire mind inside of mine._

_Isn't there some sort of space capacity?_ Alayna wondered. _This isn't 2-in-1 shampoo, shouldn't my mind not fit? _Alice laughed and mentally shook her head.

_It's not about capacity,_ Alice explained, _because you can always make new memories and yet keep your old ones. This isn't going to be me assuming your memories. It's going to be like I'm remembering you telling me your memories. Does that make sense?_ It did, but the more they talked about it, the less fun it sounded.

_It's okay, _Alice told her hurriedly,_ we won't if you don't want to. _Alayna sighed in relief.

_Thanks, Alice, _she said._ I'm not sure how I would have handled that. I mean, I trust you.. which weirds me out because I feel the trust with you like I felt it with Emmett. I've never trusted this many people this early in a friendship._ Alice sighed happily.

_We like you too, _she said as the bell rang to sound the end of class. The first person Alayna picked from the crowd as she left class was Emmett. She pushed through everyone to get to him and smacked his arm hard. He didn't act like he even felt it, but her hand was stinging from the effort.

"You told Alice?" she hissed. Emmett looked bewildered for a second, then he tried too hard to look nonchalant.

"Yeah, no biggie, though. She's just Alice." Alayna's voice was flat and angry. As much as she liked Alice, she didn't know how she felt about Emmett blabbing the first chance he got. She looked up at his face and he looked uneasy.

"You didn't tell her." Emmett shifted his weight uncomfortably. She grabbed his wrist, letting people think she was still angry with him.

_How does she know? _she asked Emmett pointedly. Emmett was too slow to hide the truth as it ran through his head.

_Alice can see the future. She couldn't hear our conversation, but she knew something big was up. She cornered me between classes to confirm her suspicions. _Alayna didn't think about anything after that. She bolted to the main office, faked sick, and drove home faster than if she was being chased.

As soon as Alayna got into the house, she stuffed the headphones to her iPod in her ears, turned it to Disturbed, and flung herself down on her bed. She tried her hardest to ignore the voices screaming in her head; insisting she was wrong, that she had made a mistake, disbelieving she'd actually run away from Emmett. She thought about all the things she had left open-ended; all the things she had ever left open-ended. She turned up the angry music as loud as it would go. It was hurting her ears, but she refused to turn it down and let her mind wander. Instead, she concentrated hard on the words of each song. She lost track of how long she laid there, face down in her comforter. Eventually, Amy was shaking her. Alayna took the headphones off and found herself temporarily deaf.

"No wonder you couldn't hear me screaming my lungs out!" Amy said cheerfully. "How was school?" The mention of the place she had run from nearly made Alayna cringe, but she held it back.

"It was okay," she said. "Got in a fight with some friends." Amy smiled and handed her a note.

"That explains why this was stuck to the door, then." Alayna opened the folded piece of notebook and read the scrawled handwriting.

_A-_

_Totally can't spell your name- sorry. Need to talk to you. Stop by whenever, and don't be alarmed by the police cruiser, that's just Charlie._

_Bella_

Alayna couldn't help but smile at Amy, and Amy smiled back.

"You can take care of that later," Amy said, "but right now, there are two very attractive boys waiting for you downstairs." Alayna frowned, but followed her aunt downstairs. Amy motioned into the sitting room and Alayna groaned when she saw Emmett and Jasper sitting there, both looking extremely uncomfortable in the stiff looking room.

"Go _home, _Emmett," she spat. "Can't you see that I don't want to talk to you?" Emmett sighed.

"Please don't be like this, Lay." Alayna's eyes were wide, and before she knew it, she was snapping.

"Don't fucking _call_ me that!" she growled. "After everything that's happened today, don't you think I deserve a _break _from being _crazy_?" Finally, Jasper stood. Alayna snapped her head to look at him after his sudden movement. No matter how many times she looked at him, it was never enough. He was _beautiful. _There was something about him that screamed how dangerous he could be, but she couldn't bring herself to be afraid, as long as he was standing right there, just like that, in her house. He stared into her eyes and she felt her anger melt away. What was the use in being angry with Emmett? She just wanted answers- oh, right. He had said he'd stop by to tell her what he found out. Alayna unwillingly tore her eyes from the most beautiful man in existence and looked back at Emmett.

"I'm sorry," Alayna apologized, not looking up at him. "It's just been a really long couple of weeks, and I'm trying to adjust to a new school, new family, making new friends. I didn't know how to handle having a new... _power_, too." Emmett just chuckled.

"No biggie, but I'm sorry, too."

"What on earth are you sorry for?"

"For not explaining things as they happened."

"Well are you going to explain them now?"

"Probably not."

"Emmett!"

"I can't! It's for your safety, I swear." Alayna peeled her eyes from Emmett's and looked back at the beautiful man standing before her and felt a surge of happiness when his eyes locked with hers. What was with the emotional lapses? Although, if Alice could see the freaking future...

"Is that you that keeps doing that?" she accused of Jasper, who just grinned sheepishly.

"Sometimes I can't help it," he admitted. Alayna couldn't help but smile. If there was only one thing she could hear for the rest of her life, she would hope it was Jasper's beautiful, deep, golden voice. Mentally shaking herself from a creepy reverie, her smile turned icy.

"So you make people feel things they aren't really feeling." The way she stated it, it wasn't a question. Emmett cringed as rage flared in Jasper's eyes.

"I feel what people are feeling and have the ability to make them feel what they _should _be feeling: remorse for being angry rather than the rage that so consumes them." They were about half a foot away, and Alayna could feel the angry ice rising on her skin.

"And who are you to tell people what they should be feeling?" Emmett was suddenly tugging on Jasper's arm.

"Dude, calm down. We still have to tell her what we came to say." Alayna folded her arms and waited impatiently. Emmett sat, motioning for the other two to do the same. They lowered themselves into their chairs at the same time, eyes never breaking from the other's glare. Alayna ignored the twinge she felt in her heart at seeing his angry look directed at her. Emmett, close enough to touch her, brushed his arm with her, quickly sending her a thought of, _Please don't provoke him. I don't want to have to wrestle out his aggressions out later- it calms him down, sure, but he always wins. _Alayna just looked at him as he moved his arm from hers.

"Okay," Emmett started. "I talked to Edward, who has a similar... _issue_ to yours. Only his works differently." He brushed his arm against hers again. _Is your aunt listening? This conversation is about to get weird. _Alayna shrugged and Emmett pondered. _Wanna see if we can three-way this shit?! _he thundered excitedly. Alayna burst out laughing despite her other emotions.

"Can we just do this normally?" she asked. Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Sure, sure. Spoilsport." It was Alayna's turn to roll her eyes. Truth be told, she wasn't sure what would happen if she touched Jasper, who had been sitting quietly, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Just please tell me what's going on," she begged, rubbing her forehead. Emmett heaved a sigh and began.

"Like I said, Edward's got a similar issue. He wanted to come meet you and explore a few questions he had, but he had other engagements today. He said to tell you that someday you could probably expand it to people you're not touching. That's what he can do. He can't project his thoughts, can't speak with people the way you can. His works like a radio; it's all one way and only what they're immediately thinking."

"Alice told me I have a pull-tab," Alayna offered. "She said that if she pulled it, she'd have a copy of all my memories inside of her mind." Emmett frowned, but it was Jasper who spoke next.

"Did she say where or how she found it?" Alayna shook her head and Jasper held his hand out to her. "Then do you mind if I take a look? I promise I won't pull the tab unless you want me to." Shakily, Alayna put her hand in Jasper's and he laced their fingers together. His hand was cold like that of the other two, but that wasn't what made her gasp. An immediate shock hit her entire body, but she couldn't let go of Jasper's hand. It was as if they had been forged together, and the heat between their hands was bordering on uncomfortable. Suddenly, it was as if she was falling; falling so quickly through the unknown, and she didn't know when or where she would land.

Her body hit the ground fast and she was sure she took Jasper with her. She could feel herself seizing, and could vaguely hear- through her link with Jasper, maybe- her aunt screaming, and Emmett calling for an ambulance. She felt her head lying on someone's knees, her hand still wrapped tightly in Jasper's cold grasp. Someone loaded her into the ambulance and Jasper and Amy rode with her to the hospital. She wondered if Jasper was having the same letting-go problem she was when she heard him chuckle so softly Amy wouldn't be able to hear and brush hair from her face. The touch from his other hand sent a jolt down her body. In a flash, she convulsed and a feeling of fire licked straight down her body, her heart clenching painfully.

"Jasper! Please, it hurts!" Alayna screamed as loud as her lungs would let her as soon as her heart unclenched. She felt a desperate sort of light calm float unhelpfully over her. She couldn't feel his hand anymore, but she desperately hoped he hadn't let go so that he would know she wasn't feeling as calm as he wanted her to feel. Her mind was nearly begging his to incapacitate her. Suddenly, she felt a breathtaking wave of peace crash into her before it became too much and she slipped from consciousness.


	5. A New Revelation

**A/N: Me again :] I'm getting very good at posting a chapter everyday, aren't I? I'm spoiling you all, aren't I? haha  
Well, as always, I own nothing familiar. Read and review please! xo Ana**

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Alayna woke feeling very rested and yet a little odd. Like she was missing something. Wiggling each of her limbs to make sure they were still attached, she took in her surroundings and found a small woman dressed in hospital scrubs going through a chart.

"What's going on?" Alayna asked groggily. The nurse jumped before smiling at her, relieved.

"Oh!" she said. "Doctor Cullen and his children will be _very_ happy you've woken! Let me just go get them." Before Alayna could say any more, the nurse was gone and Emmett was bursting through the door.

"Thank fucking God, Lay!" he said, clearly ignoring her wish that he not call her that. "You scared the bloody hell out of me!" he bellowed. Alayna couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"When did you become British?" she asked weakly. Emmett laughed loudly and Alayna winced.

"I love you and all, Em, but you're far too loud right now." A chuckle from behind her large friend made her wonder who else was in the room. She felt a surge of hope and forced it out in case the man behind her friend was Jasper. To her dismay, a man dressed in a lab coat who looked about thirty years old popped out from behind Emmett. She frowned, not recognizing the man and he stepped closer to her.

"I'm Carlisle Cullen," he told her soothingly. "I'm your doctor as well as Emmett, Alice, and Jasper's father."

"Speaking of," she said, "when was Jasper finally able to detach himself?" Carlisle began flexing her muscles and moving her limbs.

"About two days ago," he told her. "Just after you lost consciousness. It's as if your brain allowed your body to let him go." He looked up at her with fascination and eagerness in his eyes. "I'd like to research and test all aspects of this new power you seem to have, if you don't mind." His face was so excited at the possibility that she couldn't bring herself to say no. Truth be told, she didn't want to say no. She wanted to know what was happening and why it was happening now. She wanted to know everything he could tell her about what had been going on and she wanted to know what the deal was with her connection to his son. She was nearly bursting, and she decided to let her questions trickle slowly while he flexed her muscles and checked her vitals.

"Can I ask you a question, Doctor Cullen?" she asked. He smiled a genuine, gorgeous smile at her and nodded.

"But please, call me Carlisle." She nodded.

"Okay, Carlisle," she said, swallowing hard. "What can you tell me about what's been happening?" Before he could open his mouth to answer, the door flew open again.

"Don't start without us!" Alice cried as she, Jasper, Rosalie, and Edward entered the room. Jasper didn't even look at her, Alice flashed her a friendly smile, Rosalie openly glared at her, and Edward was staring at her, seeming to be trying to understand her. He nodded at her assumption and she smiled. _Nice to have someone who understands me,_ she thought to him, nodding her head back at him. He smirked at her.

"I could say the same to you," he told her out loud, causing everyone to look at her.

"Woah," she laughed. "No matter how much I knew that would happen, I was _so _not ready for that." Everyone- even Rosalie- laughed along with her and Carlisle cleared his throat quietly. Everyone immediately quieted, and Alayna knew instantly that Carlisle headed his family in a friendly but authoritative way.

"Okay, Carlisle," Alayna said, "now that the whole world is here, what can you tell me about what happened?" Carlisle looked slightly uncomfortable, like there was a huge piece of the puzzle that he wanted to avoid. She risked a glance at Edward, who simply pressed his lips tightly together and avoided looking at her.

"What are you not telling me?" she asked, focusing her sad face at Emmett- who pressed his face in Rosalie's hair to avoid her eyes. She looked around the group and her gaze rested on Alice.

"Alice?" she asked innocently. "You'll tell me, won't you?"

"Oh, Alayna, don't do this to me," Alice pleaded. Jasper finally stepped closer to Alayna's hospital bed.

"Please just trust us when we say that it's safer for you to not know," he said softly. Whether he realized it or not, his beautiful voice soothed her worry without him having to use his power. He reached out as if to touch her, but dropped his hand before he got too close. Confused and more than a little hurt, Alayna tore her eyes from Jasper's and looked at her fingers, playing with the pulse reader on her left index finger.

"Okay, okay. I'll leave that alone." The entire family looked relieved at her words, Rosalie's surprise not escaping her. She picked her head up to look at Carlisle. "But what _can_ you tell me?"

"Sadly, not much," he admitted. "We know many people with different sorts of powers, and the only one we have immediate contact with who can come close to doing what you do is Edward."

"But even I," Alayna turned to look at Edward as he chimed in, "can't do nearly what you can, and I've been at this longer than you have." Alayna bit her lip.

"Can I at least know what it is that you guys do?" she asked. All five Cullen/Hale kids turned to look at Carlisle, so Alayna did, too.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," he said, and as soon as the words left his mouth, Alice chimed in.

"I see the future!" she blurted out. "I know Emmett accidentally told you earlier, but I've been dying to tell you since I met you. I can really only see things once a decision is made. If the decision changes, I can't see anything." She danced forward and climbed into the hospital bed. Alayna, who had been way too warm since she woke, was grateful for Alice's cold skin against hers. As soon as Alice touched her, the girls' minds linked together, and Alice's mind threw her into a vision.

Through Alice, Alayna saw a conflict between herself and Jasper.

"_What the hell is your __problem__?" she saw herself scream at him. "You think you're doing this for my own good? You think you know what's best for me? You're not my father, Jasper, so stop acting like it." She pushed his chest as hard as she could, but he didn't sway. Instead, he caught her hands as she turned to leave and used them to yank her close to his body. One of his arms wrapped tightly around her waist while the other gently cradled the back of her head. Her hands were trapped between them, splayed out on his chest. She tried to use them to push away, but the second she thought he was letting her go, he crushed his lips to hers and she lost all conscious thought._

The vision ended and Alayna could hear Edward snickering somewhere from the back of the room and Jasper quietly demanding to know what the girls had just seen. She turned her wide eyes on Alice, whose were just as wide. Only instead of looking incredulous like Alayna, Alice looked nervous.

"Was that-"

"Yep."

"And was I-"

"Uh-huh."

"Woah." Alice laughed and hugged her sideways. Everyone just stared, Edward trying harder not to laugh and everyone else looking confused.

"What did you see, Alice?" Jasper asked. Alayna begged Alice through their still attached link to not tell him.

"It concerned Alayna, Jazz," Alice said smoothly. "If she wants you to know, you'll know." Edward stepped up to stand by the bed.

"You already know I read minds," he said. "And I'm sure Emmett told you it only works one way."

"Like a radio, right?" Alayna said. Edward smiled.

"Right. I'm really interested in what you can do, though. How did it start? Why can you do it? Does it work with everyone, or just us? What's with the divider Alice told us about? I wonder if you'll ever be able to project your thoughts without touching someone..." Edward trailed off, not really talking to her anymore, and she just stared at him as he lost himself in thought.

"Edward!" she snapped. He jumped and looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry, I got a little caught up," he apologized. Alayna couldn't help but laugh.

"I saw that," she said. "And I don't know anything about this except that nothing has so far happened when I touch anyone except you guys. Well, I've only touched Emmett, Alice, and Jasper." She mused on whether touching Jasper would have the same effect as last time and her heart clenched a little at the thought that she'd never be able to touch him again.

"Doubtful," Edward told her, reading her thoughts again.

"But how do you know?" she asked him, biting her lip. Alice shifted next to her and squeezed Alayna's burning hand in her own cold one, already having heard her thoughts through the still-present link between them. Alayna jerked her head to look at Alice when their hands met.

"Because your power should now expect the reaction when he touches you and be able to fight through the reaction," Alice told her. Jasper, finally understanding what they were talking about, turned and quickly left the room with Carlisle hot on his heels. Emmett put his large hand on Alayna's shoulder and smiled sadly before leading Rosalie out of the room as well. Edward helped Alice off the bed and after Alice turned down the thermostat and promised to be back after Alayna had rested, the two left the room with the rest of their family. This of course left Alayna to try and sort out her thoughts.

She wasn't stupid. She knew Jasper was afraid to touch her. Part of her brain wanted to say it was because he didn't want to hurt her again, but the other, more rational part of her brain was telling her he was just being cautious so they didn't end up stuck together again. That added on to her annoyance at Carlisle for insisting that she stay overnight, though, was almost more than she could handle. He told her aunt it was for safety precautions and turned his charming smile on her. Of course, since her legal guardian had been friends with her doctor before this and trusted anything that came out of his mouth, she had no choice.

She wanted to figure out the tricks and traits of her new, oddly-acquired power, she just didn't want to do that while lying in a hospital bed wearing only her underwear and an ugly, backless gown. She had been thinking about all the things she'd rather be wearing for at least twenty minutes when Alice burst through the door as if she knew what Alayna's problem was (and she probably did). She was holding an over-sized baseball tee and a pair of yoga pants.

"The shirt is Jasper's and the pants are mine," Alice explained, throwing them to Alayna. "I figured you'd fit into my clothes better than anyone else's." Alayna laughed, thanking her friend profusely and changing into them quickly, as if Alice wasn't standing two feet from her. She smiled happily as she pulled the jersey over her head, her senses suddenly flooded with Jasper's heavenly scent. She turned nervously to Alice.

"Alice?" she asked softly. Alice didn't look from where she was arranging the flowers she had also carried in on Alayna's side table.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Jasper hates me?" she asked, her voice never getting louder. Alice stopped and sat on the bed like she had earlier that day, wrapping her cool arm around Alayna's still-too-warm shoulders.

"Of course I don't think that!" Alice said, leaning her head against Alayna's. "He's just worried." Alayna sniffled and Alice squeezed her closer.

"Yeah, I know." Alayna said dejectedly. "Worried he'll get stuck to me for good next time." Alice lifted her head and forced Alayna to stare directly into her eyes.

"He is most definitely not!" she snapped. "He's worried that if his touch can cause you seizures, then anything more could cause your death." Alayna wrapped her arms around her new best friend, drifting into sleep very quickly due to Alice cooling her uncomfortable body temperature.

"I just want him to hold me," she whispered, her drowsiness clouding her senses so much that she didn't hear the door open. "I feel like I'm missing something, and I think it's Jasper." By the time she had finished her sentence, she was fast asleep and Jasper was standing, eyes wide, in the doorway.

"Alice?" he asked. "What was that?" Alice stroked her friend's hair and didn't look at her brother.

"She's hurt, Jazz," Alice murmured. "She thinks you want nothing to do with her." Jasper looked as if his heart had been torn out, and he was immediately sitting in the chair beside Alayna's bed. He lifted his hand until it hovered about an inch from hers, his face taking on a tortured look.

"I can't do it, Alice." His voice broke at the end of his sentence. "What if I hurt her more? I can barely live with myself now, knowing she's in this hospital because of me." Alice, suddenly aggravated, slammed her hand on top of Jasper's. It was a hard contact between the siblings, and since he hadn't been expecting it, Jasper's hand connected with Alayna's. He was able to absorb the blow before it broke her hand, but only barely. Alice swiftly removed herself from the bed and left the room, closing the door behind her. Terrified, Jasper tried to take his hand from Alayna's, and was relieved when he found it possible. He laid his hand back on hers, concentrating then on her thoughts, and found her dreaming of him. His frozen heart soared as he found his face in her dreams.

"Jasper," she breathed in her sleep, turning her entire body to face him. He let his thumb caress the skin of her hand as he held it gently between his own.

"I'm here," he whispered back. Visions of him walking away from her filled both of their heads and she whimpered in her sleep, moving closer to him.

"Jasper, please," she repeated, clearly distraught at the thought of him leaving her. "Please don't leave me." If it was possible, Jasper was sure his heart would have broken at her tone. He squeezed her hand in his desperately.

"I'm not," he whispered, his voice betraying his emotions. "I swear I'm not going anywhere." As if she heard him- although he knew it impossible because he didn't see it in her mind- she moved closer yet to him.

"Jasper," she whimpered. He ran one hand through his hair, successfully mussing his blonde locks. Without stopping to think, he lifted her gently and moved her over, climbing into bed with her. Immediately, she shifted toward him, throwing an arm across his chest and laying her head beside his. He gathered her close to him and tried hard not to breathe. Instead, he concentrated on how she felt too warm, almost feverish. He made a mental note to talk to Carlisle about her body temperature, but as she shifted closer to him in her sleep, pressing herself completely against his side, her body molding perfectly to his, he couldn't seem to remember anything that didn't involve her touch. He wrapped his arms tightly around her so that she had no hope in moving, but she wasn't suffocating. For the first time since Jasper could remember, he had found someone he never wanted to let go of. _But I won't take her down with me,_ he decided firmly._ Everything from now on follows her lead._


	6. A New Relationship?

**A/N: Nothing really to say... Hope you're all well. Read and review as always, please! xo Ana**

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Alayna awoke the next morning to find that she had been disconnected from all the machines and she didn't feel as unbearably hot as she had the night before. In fact, her entire front side was pressed tightly along something very cold. Not opening her eyes, she ran an arm over the coldness and found her hand running down an arm. Feeling her heart soar in a surge of happiness, she knew immediately that it was Jasper who held her so close, and she closed her fingers into the spaces between his. He chuckled lightly, his mouth right by her ear.

"I know you're awake." His voice, low and gorgeous in her ear, soothed her in ways she thought were never possible. She stretched her body out alongside his, never coming close to being as long as he was. She opened her bright blue eyes to find his not far away. She smiled in spite of herself.

"You're touching me," she noticed. He frowned slightly and, letting go of her hand, he tried to move away. Alayna clamped her hands around his middle as he tried to move and she made a low noise in the back of her throat, warning him to stop moving. He could have easily broken her grip, but he instead caught her drift and lay back down.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing," she told him once she was situated in her previous position. "Quite the opposite, actually... I just didn't think you would again." Her voice was quiet and depressed as she finished her sentence and Jasper pulled her even closer to him. He sighed a little before he spoke.

"You were too warm last night," he said, trying to legitimize his reasons for why he was in bed with her. "And I'm sorry about not touching you." His voice had so much regret and worry laced in it that she forgave him almost before he could apologize. "I was just so afraid when I caused your seizures, and I couldn't bear to think I had hurt you like that." Alayna huffed and rolled her eyes.

"You can't hold yourself responsible for everything I do," she told him. "I'm not clumsy, so I've learned to believe anything bad that happens to me has a reason behind it." Her words didn't seem to soothe him so she rested her hand on his middle, rubbing her thumb up and down on his lower stomach. She was a little surprised and more than a little happy when her thumb kept brushing against ripples caused only by muscles. She tilted her head up to look in his eyes, her thumb still moving. His eyes were closed and there was a slight smile on his face. She would have thought him asleep if it wasn't for his smile twitching when she moved her hand, and his happy thoughts running through her mind. She let out a breathy laugh as one of his hands ghosted lightly over the side of her stomach and he opened his eyes to greet hers.

"What's so funny?" he asked, grabbing her sides. She gasped and jumped away from him, catching him off guard. Her eyes were wide and his were shining with recognition as he realized what her problem was: she was ticklish. He advanced on her and she scooted off the bed backwards, flattening herself against the wall behind it as he stalked toward her.

"No no no." she said, her words rushing together in her plea. "Please Jasper. Please don't, I'll do anything."

"Anything?" he asked coyly. Her head bobbed anxiously.

"Anything!" she said, her breath coming out exasperated. An evil grin spread itself across Jasper's beautiful face as he pressed his body to hers, trying not to breathe and relishing in her unconscious attempts to push herself against him, too. Her head fell back against the wall as his hips pushed deliciously against hers, their bodies fitting perfectly together. Biting back any sounds that might come out, Alayna braced herself with her hands on Jasper's shoulders so she didn't end up tipping over. Not that she could have gone anywhere with as little space as she had. Emmett, never being one to have the best timing, burst through the door then to find Jasper pressing Alayna against the wall and immediately looked away.

"Jesus Christ!" Emmett bellowed, causing the rest of the Cullen kids to come running into the room. By then, Jasper had moved and Alayna took that opportunity to dive back into the hospital bed. Carlisle followed his children into the room and smiled as he took note of Jasper standing beside the hospital bed, his hand tucked happily into Alayna's. The peace that Jasper felt was emanating throughout the room and it made every Cullen happy to see Jasper so happy. When her eyes landed on Carlisle, Alayna's hand gripped Jasper's, knowing that Carlisle was about to test everything she had been experiencing for the past few days. Her thoughts seeped into Jasper's mind as well and he rubbed circles into her hand with his thumb. She concentrated on the feel of his hand on hers instead of what Carlisle was about to do and they both smiled at each other. Edward rolled his eyes.

"The two of you are ridiculous," he informed them. "And Alayna, I thought you wanted to know about this power." He looked more eager than she was and she cocked an eyebrow, staring straight at him and boldly thinking, _I'd say you're more curious than I am_. He grinned at her triumphantly.

"You might be right," he told her, "I'm also wondering if there's something I can do to project my power like you can."

"So you want to copy me," she teased. Edward simply laughed.

"Something like that," he said, rolling his eyes again. Carlisle stepped forward with a small, polite smile.

"Are you ready, Alayna?" he asked her.

"Do I have to let go of Jasper?" she asked boldly. Everyone around her laughed, Jasper leaning against her for a split second.

"I'm afraid so," he told her. Reluctantly, she let go of Jasper's hand, and she immediately felt that same feeling of missing something that she had felt when she first awoke in the hospital. Shoving the feeling down more for Edward's sake than her own, Alayna held her hand out to Carlisle and he took it in his own. Alayna's eyes were wide as she and Carlisle searched each other's minds. It was a strange sensation, suddenly having the medical knowledge he had in her mind. He let her shift through everything he knew about medicine, and she suddenly found herself understanding biology and medical procedures like she never thought possible. She knew he was controlling what she saw (maybe through years of living with Edward in his mind), and once she had shifted through everything he let her see, she came to what she was sure Alice called the pull-tab. Apparently it wasn't just her mind that had it. Knowing that Carlisle had temporarily finished searching her mind, she let go of his hand and rubbed her forehead.

"Head rush," she explained sheepishly as everyone looked at her in concern. Carlisle chuckled as everyone else looked confused.

"Am I going to remember any of that?" she asked him hopefully. Carlisle shrugged.

"Could you set a broken leg if I asked you to?" he asked. Alayna searched her mind for the proper procedure and found it quickly. She nodded as she ran through it out loud just as she remembered seeing it in his mind. Carlisle nodded as she finished, clearly pleased with her progress.

"What would you do if I told you that your power runs beyond mind-reading?" he asked her carefully. She cocked her head and looked confused.

"I'd ask you what you mean by that," she said with a frown. He cleared his throat and tried to explain to her exactly what he meant.

"Your power, much like my old friend Aro's, seems to reach past simply reading what the person is thinking. Aro's power also requires that he touch the person he wishes to see the mind of, but I am certain your power can pass his and also reach out to those you're not touching. It will require work but I believe if you wish, you can do it. When strengthened, you will be able to search through the memories and knowledge of anyone you touch. I'm sure in time you will be able to control your projections in a sense of using them only when you want to, but until then I'm afraid my children will be taking advantage of your power by forcing themselves on you to avoid speaking things aloud." Carlisle finished his speech with twinkling eyes and Alayna smiled despite herself.

"Can I meet Aro? Maybe he could help me." Alayna was surprised at the horror she saw on her friends' faces.

"No," Jasper said lowly. "Carlisle, don't send her to Volterra." Carlisle shook his head, seeming to ignore Jasper's pleas.

"Volterra is a dangerous place, Alayna," he told her. "I am not sure how they would receive you."

"I know exactly how they would receive her!" Jasper yelled, slamming his fist on the table beside Alayna's bed. Alayna reached out before anyone could stop her and wrapped her fingers around the top of Jasper's wrist where it rested on the table. She squeezed her fingers and he looked at her, his eyes filled with fear. She let her voice float through his mind lightly as he struggled to calm himself.

_You need to calm down, _she told him firmly_. Can you do that for me? Can you just breathe? Think sweet, calming, happy thoughts for me, Jazz_. Almost instantly, Jasper's mind filled with Alayna's scent, the sound of her voice, the way her eyes lit up when she smiled, and everything else about her. His tense stature released almost instantly. Alayna smiled up at him and released his wrist from her grasp.

"How'd you do that?" Emmett asked her. "I always have to end up wrestling him when he looks like that." Alayna shrugged and smiled at her giant friend while Edward shook with laughter.

"I dunno, Em," she said, "I just told him to think calming thoughts." Emmett rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't work!" he whined. "Alice has tried that dozens of times and it never has before." Alice rolled her eyes and pushed Emmett from the room, Rosalie and Edward following behind. Jasper looked down at her and she smiled, squeezing his hand.

"Go," she said, still smiling. "I want to talk to Carlisle." He nodded and smiled at her too before striding to the door and closing it softly behind him. She turned immediately to Carlisle and bit her lip.

"I know what you're going to ask me," he said with a sigh. Alayna avoided his gaze, watching herself play with her fingers instead.

"I'm not asking you to go with me if you don't want to," she said. "Just a push in the right direction would be nice." He sighed and sat near the foot of her bed.

"You have to understand that what you want is very dangerous," he told her. "The man you wish to seek out is very conniving. He will do whatever he can to keep you with him. You don't yet understand how incredible the power you have is. It will soon surpass Aro's own and he will want you to stay so he can use what you have. I know I can't explain it to you in a way that you will completely understand, but I want you to have an idea of what you're getting into if you should seriously decide to go to Italy." Alayna swallowed hard and nodded at him.

"I need to do it," she said. "I need to know everything I can know." It was Carlisle's turn to look nervous.

"I'll go with you, because one of us must."

"Why?"

"The guards would kill you before letting you near Aro without Alice, Edward or myself with you, and I would hate to put either of my children in the position to even consider it."


	7. A Bad Decision

**A/N: DON'T HIT ME FOR THE VOLTERRA THING. You'll see what I'm planning in the next chapter or two :] As always, please read and review! xo Ana**

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Alayna was afraid to tell Jasper about her decision to go to Volterra. Part of her didn't want him to go if they were as dangerous as he made them sound, and yet a larger part of her wanted him to go with her, to shelter her, to protect her. She shook the last thought away. Carlisle was going with her and he would ensure her safety. When she had brought up money Carlisle had generously waved away her concerns, telling her that in the name of research (he told them she had a rare, incurable disease he didn't understand), the hospital was paying for everything.

She couldn't help but think of her aunt. She had been told that the tests Carlisle wanted to run couldn't be conducted here (truth) and the only place to do it was Italy (more truth). When they arrived back at Amy's house after Alayna's release from the hospital, they parked and opted for pizza and movies before Alayna finally began drifting to sleep. Amy helped her up the stairs and into her bed, setting her alarm for school the next day.

Alayna woke the next morning, comfortably sleepy and not wanting to wake up. She skipped her morning run, stretched her limbs instead and going about her normal routine, throwing on a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a plain white fitted tee. She looped a brown, leather belt through her belt loops, wrapped a scarf loosely around her neck, and curled her hair. She hurried down the stairs, already knowing not to expect to see Amy in the mornings. Grabbing a Pop-Tart and her car keys, she raced for the door, knowing Emmett would probably kill her if she was late again. She made it to school, parking her car and bolting for her first class. She met Emmett and Alice inside, pushing her desk between theirs. Each laid their arm against hers and she gasped. All three minds were instantly linked.

_Emmett? _Alice's musical voice tinkled in Alayna's mind.

_Yep, _Emmett responded.

_So weird, _Alayna chimed in. All three laughed together quietly, Alayna burying her head in her arm.

_So what's up with you and Jasper? _Alice asked with a smirk. Alayna's eyes grew wide, although neither Cullen could see it.

_Nothing, _Alayna replied hesitantly. _But there is something I have to tell you guys. _Alayna let her mind wander over her memories of the Italy conversation with Carlisle and both of her friends were quiet, though each for separate reasons. Alice was thoughtful, carefully going over everything Alayna had shown her again and again and searching the future for how the Volturi would react to their visit while Emmett was silently fuming.

_No, Alayna, _he said stiffly._ Absolutely not. You don't know what they're capable of. _Alayna sighed, finally raising her head and turning her eyes on Emmett.

_You don't know what it means for me to do this, Em_, she said, her eyes sad. _This could be the answer to every question I've been asking myself since we discovered this talent of mine._ Emmett moved his arm from hers and moved his desk away stubbornly, crossing his arms over his broad chest and refusing to look at either of the two girls to his right. Alayna laid her head on Alice's arm and Alice used her other hand to smooth Alayna's hair. The hour passed slowly, Alice soothing Alayna the whole time. Alayna wasn't looking forward to her next class, where she only had Emmett. She hated that he was angry with her, and wasn't sure how she would survive the coming hour. The bell sounded for class to end and Alice shot her an apologetic smile before disappearing into the crowd in the opposite direction as Emmett and Alayna.

They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say and neither willing to apologize. The hour passed miserably for Alayna, who kept unsuccessfully trying to catch Emmett's attention. Eventually, she gave up and just laid her chin on her folded arms. Class ended and Alayna barely noticed. Numbly, she made her way to Bio and Alice immediately questioned Alayna on the class she had without her. Alayna simply shook her head and refused to let Alice touch her. She bolted from her seat the second the bell rang and nearly raced to French, desperate to see Jasper and even more desperate for him to change her emotions. She plopped into her seat next to him and buried her face in her arms as tears coursed down her face.

"Alayna?" Jasper's voice was perplexed and she knew he was having a hard time understanding her waves of depression, anxiousness and regret. His cold fingers brushed her hand, trying to make her look at him, his mind begging hers to help him understand. She let one sentence float through her mind before moving away from Jasper's hand, _I got in a fight with Emmett, but I can't tell you why. _Jasper moved to sit back against his chair.

"If I ask Emmett or Alice, will they tell me why you're so upset?" Alayna picked up her head, her blue eyes looking straight at him, her face streaked with tears. She felt a lurch of pain course through her that she was sure came from Jasper, not herself. After the pain, she felt calm float over her and she visibly relaxed.

"Please don't ask them," she whispered. Jasper leaned back over to her and wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs, and at the contact, Alayna heard the indecision in Jasper's mind. _How can I listen to her wishes when I would do anything to make her stop crying? _He seemed to have forgotten she could hear him, but at her realization of this, he pulled away. He must have felt her hurt pang at him like it did her because he smiled at her. The smile didn't reach his eyes, though, and that hurt Alayna more. She pulled her face further from his hands, wiping it on her sleeve and staring ahead, pretending to pay attention to the lecture that had just begun while being very aware that Jasper's eyes never left her slouched form. Calculus passed at an almost painfully slow pace, and when it ended, Alayna bolted from the room. She intended to make it to the lunch room and to Bella before Jasper could find Emmett or Alice and ask them why she was so upset.

She reached her destination quickly, sliding into the seat beside Bella. Bella immediately turned her attention from whatever Jessica was telling her to Alayna.

"Where have you been?" she hissed. "I nearly had a heart attack when Emmett told me that you were in the hospital." Alayna groaned and made a mental note to kill Emmett later for his inability to keep his mouth shut. She looked up at him to find him watching them, trying unsuccessfully to make it look like he wasn't. Alayna shook her fist menacingly at him and both he and Bella burst into laughter at the shorter girl's empty threat.

"I had a seizure," she said, keeping her voice low to try and keep others out of their conversation.

"A seizure?!" Bella blurted. Alayna glared at her icily as everyone at their table turned to stare.

"Way to tell the world!" Alayna exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. Everyone seated near them started bombarding her with questions and she growled angrily.

"I don't want to fucking talk about it!" she yelled as the seventh person asked her what happened. She turned her attention back to Bella, who looked sincerely apologetic.

"I'm not angry with you, Bella," she promised. "I just hate people who pretend to care just for a story." Bella nodded and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked her friend. Alayna couldn't help but crack a small smile despite her irritation.

"Not right now," she said, "but later when everyone is preoccupied, sure." Both girls laughed and the conversation turned, despite the fact that she desperately wanted to know what Bella knew. Bella and Alayna pulled Angela and Jessica into a conversation about odd-tasting cafeteria food that kept them laughing. Looking back up at Edward, Alayna let a question of whether or not Bella knew about his mind reading float through her mind. His eyes locked with hers and he shook his head hesitantly.

_And you don't want me to tell her, _she guessed. He nodded again, looking relieved she understood him. The corners of her mouth twitched in a smile.

_Your secret's safe with me,_ she promised_. Am I allowed to tell her about me? Can I test it on her? _Edward let frustration and over-concentration fill his features and Alayna tried to guess his meaning again.

_You don't want me to push it? You don't want me to hurt her? _Edward shook his head almost too quickly for her to see.

_You don't think it will work? _Edward's face changed into one of praise at her excellence in their guessing game.

_Why not? _Edward simply pointed to himself subtly and shook his head at the same speed as before.

_You can't hear her?! _Alayna's guess was dead on and Edward smiled wryly.

_Is she the only one? _Alayna asked. Edward smiled that same smile and nodded a little.

"Woah," Alayna muttered, looking away from Edward with a slight headache. She squeezed her eyes shut and popped them open again while pinching the bridge of her nose, hoping to relieve the pain. Serenity flowed over at her, and for the first time that lunch, Alayna looked over at Jasper. It couldn't have come from him, she realized. Not with the immense anger she saw written on his face. She looked down, unsurprised that his anger seemed to be directed at her. Bella, having seen the entire interaction with Jasper, was staring openly at Alayna. She elbowed her friend sharply and Alayna turned to her.

"What was that?" she whispered. Alayna smiled unhappily and the bell rang not five seconds later.

"Just more of what I have to tell you later. Come to my place after school?" Bella nodded quickly before both girls got up to leave. Heading to her history class alone, Alayna was caught off guard when something- or someone, she supposed- hard and cold pressed her against the wall. She looked up to find Jasper glaring angrily at her.

"Are you insane?" His voice was low, dangerous, and angry. Alayna sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose again. It was a stressed habit she couldn't seem to break. When she opened her eyes, she looked right into Jasper's. They were darker in that moment, bordering on black.

"That depends on why you're asking me that question," she said, bringing her hands to rest on her hips. Jasper's hands rested on the wall on either side of her head and his tall frame rested heavily on hers.

"Why are you going to Italy?" he demanded. Alayna sighed and let her head fall forward, resting her forehead on his chest. She hated the feeling of not knowing how to make him understand.

"I need to know why this is happening," she told him softly. "I need to know how to control it; how to use it in a good way. And if Aro can help me, I'm all for Italy." Jasper's anger, which Alayna was starting to see as a cover for his fear, heightened.

"Don't you know what they could _do _to you?" his voice was growing louder and they were gaining spectators.

"Jasper," she said soothingly, placing her hand on his arm, rubbing it gently. Jasper's mood was shifting so suddenly that Alayna could barely keep up with him.

"Please, Alayna," he said, turning his tortured eyes on hers. "I'll beg if that's what it takes to make you stay." She knew he was serious, but no amount of begging- even from Jasper, who Alayna was pretty sure she'd die to please- could convince her to change her mind. Alayna stared into Jasper's eyes and stood straight up, just tall enough to let the fingers of the hand that wasn't resting on his arm brush across his forehead and down the side of his face, tracing his cheek and jawbone with her fingertips. She held his cheek in her hand as she spoke to him.

"Carlisle is going with me," she said, hoping her voice sounded as soothing as she meant it to. She could feel his anger dissipate completely and his fear take over, nearly drowning them both.

"No," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," she said, her face serious, "but I'm going to Italy."

"They'll persuade you into becoming one of them. Alayna, they'll keep you forever and I'll never see you again." Alayna rolled her eyes at him and tried to lighten the mood.

"They can't keep me forever. I've got to die sometime, haven't I?" Jasper shook his head before letting it fall to her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his curly blonde hair and felt his fear begin to fade. He sighed quietly and Alayna listened carefully to Jasper's next words.

"Not if they turn you into one of us." Alayna jerked her head up as Jasper lifted his from her shoulder and disappeared down the hall. _One of them? What the hell is that supposed to mean? _Alayna wondered as she made her way to History. She sat beside him like always, but he didn't look at her, speak to her or even manipulate her emotions all hour, no matter how hard she tried to catch his eye.


	8. An Upsetting Argument

**A/N: I took a couple days off, hoping to get more reviews.. I did, sort of, but it didn't have the effect I was hoping for haha.. So please please please review! I need to know what you all think so I know if I should even keep posting! I've written up through chapter 20, but I need to know if I should keep posting :]  
**

** Love you all!  
xo Ana**

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After a gym class of basketball where Alayna excelled and Bella did not, both girls changed quickly, bolting out the front doors of the school and to their cars. They had taken to parking facing each other, so they reached their destinations at the same time, silently agreeing to meet at Alayna's. Bella parked at her house and ran quickly across the street to meet Alayna in her driveway. Alayna unlocked the door, threw her keys on the kitchen counter and the two girls flopped onto the comfortable couch in the living room. They turned to face each other and Alayna spoke first.

"Tell me everything I've missed!"

"I almost died," Bella admitted. Alayna's eyes bugged.

"Tell me you're kidding," she begged. Bella shook her head.

"When I got out of my truck that first day you were gone, Tyler Crowley lost control of his van and it should have killed me."

"Should have?"

"Edward saved my life," Bella stated softly, picking at an imaginary piece of fuzz on the couch.

"Explain!" Alayna demanded. Bella laughed softly.

"Well at first he wasn't anywhere near me, and then when it was about to hit me, he was standing over me, stopping the truck _with his body_." Alayna gaped.

"You've got to be shitting me. It should have killed him, too!"

"He shouldn't have been able to get over to me that quickly!" Bella countered.

"Okay," Alayna said with a slight frown, "I feel like we just need to put the pieces together. Let's start with the obvious: super fast, super strong."

"Ice cold," Bella chimed in.

"And the eyes," Alayna added. Bella tilted her head, confused. "Haven't you noticed that no one else has eyes that color? And they were all adopted, but they've all got the same color eyes." Bella nodded then.

"But what does it all mean?" she asked, frustrated. Alayna shrugged, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. A thought occurred to her and she popped her eyes open to look at her friend.

"What?" Bella asked slowly.

"Does it matter?" Alayna asked carefully. Bella considered what she was saying for a second.

"Not really," she admitted. "I don't care what Edward is, I'm still going to be in l-" Bella cut herself off and ducked her head so Alayna couldn't see the pink tinting her cheeks. Alayna laughed lightly.

"If it helps," Alayna said, "I'm the same way with Jasper." Bella checked the clock then gasped.

"I gotta get dinner for Charlie started," she said. "But can we both promise to tell each other if we figure anything out?" Alayna bobbed her head enthusiastically.

"We're in this together, Bells," Alayna told her friend, gathering the taller girl in an awkward hug. Bella hugged her back with a laugh. Alayna felt bad for not telling her friend about her ability, but she couldn't see the use in telling her something she wasn't even sure she could prove. If Edward couldn't read her mind, who was to say Alayna would be able to? _Because you can do things Edward can't do_, her brain told her tauntingly. Of course, she hadn't felt anything in their hug, but she was sure she'd have to try harder to read the minds of anyone besides the Cullen family.

"Of course we are," Bella said, smiling at her friend as she headed out the front door, pulling her hood over her head and dashing for her house.

The house suddenly seemed so quiet with only Alayna in it. She would have napped, but she had been sleeping so much lately that she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, an idea formed in her head and she left a note telling Amy where she was going before grabbing her car keys and driving to the hospital. Once she reached her destination, Alayna jogged inside and headed to the triage, not sure what she planned on saying. The nurse, a big busty woman, smiled politely at her.

"You're the mystery case Dr. Cullen has been working on, aren't you?" she asked. Alayna smiled, glad she wouldn't have to make up an excuse as to why she needed to see him.

"That's me," she said with a short laugh. "Is he busy?"

"He's just in his office with one of his boys, honey," she said, "but you can go ahead and knock on his door if you want." The nurse gave her directions and Alayna gave her another big, thankful smile before heading down the hall. When Alayna came to a door marked "Carlisle Cullen, M.D.", she knocked once lightly.

"Come in," he called from inside. Alayna poked her head inside the door and was shocked to find Jasper sitting across from him. She wasn't sure what she expected when the nurse said he was with one of his boys, but for some reason she hadn't been expecting Jasper. Carlisle's face lit up when he saw her and he immediately welcomed her inside. She smiled and awkwardly sat beside Jasper, knowing by the mood around them that he was still upset with her, and that he still didn't approve of her upcoming trip.

"I have a question and it's okay if you can't answer it," she told the regal looking man sitting in front of her. He nodded to her and she continued hesitantly. "Do you think it works on everyone? Because I've touched my aunt, and I've touched Bella and nothing happens then." Carlisle looked thoughtful before giving her the answer Jasper was hoping he wouldn't have to hear.

"I actually don't know," he said, "I have some theories, but it's really something you should ask Aro."

"I actually was wondering about that," she said. "About when you wanted to take this trip." Alayna was very aware of Jasper's extreme tensity from his seat next to hers. Carlisle pondered it for a moment before answering her.

"Do you have a preference?" he asked her.

"Not really," she said. "The only thing I'm worried about is keeping up in school." Carlisle smiled.

"Nothing to worry about. All of my children are learned in every area and would be willing to help you." Alayna nodded as she considered every possibility.

"When's the soonest we could go?" she asked. Jasper made a strange choking noise and she whipped her head to look at him, finally having had enough of his brooding.

"Responsive now, are you?" she snapped. "Nice of you to join the conversation." Jasper didn't say a word and he kept his face void of emotion. Alayna knew she'd find his emotions in his golden eyes but she didn't look for fear of what she might find there.

"Good, don't talk," she allowed. "I wouldn't want your ridiculousness to get in the way of my explainable, necessary reasons for doing what I'm doing." Fury crossed Jasper's face.

"My ridiculousness?" he echoed. "You think I'm being ridiculous when you could _die_ and you don't seem to care?" Alayna rested her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands before throwing her hands in the air.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," she snapped coldly, standing to leave. She made it five and a half steps down the hall before Jasper caught her, throwing her into the wall and covering her body with his for the second time that day. He left an opening and Alayna slipped through it. As she stalked through the hallway, he grabbed her again. _This is just like Alice's vision, _Alayna realized seconds before Jasper whirled her to face him.

"What the hell is your _problem_?" she found herself screaming at him, just like in the vision. She wondered if she could change her words, but didn't see the point in it. "You think you're doing this for my own good? You think you know what's best for me? You're not my father, Jasper, so stop acting like it." She pushed his chest as hard as she could, but he didn't sway. Instead, he caught her hand as she turned to leave and used it to yank her close to his body. One of his arms wrapped tightly around her waist while the other gently cradled the back of her head. Her hands were trapped between them, splayed out on his chest. She tried to use them to push away, but the second she thought he was letting her go, he grabbed her face in his hands and crushed his lips to hers. She lost all desire to fight the gorgeous man attached to her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and when he hoisted her up so he didn't have to bend down, she wrapped her legs around his waist. As soon as she did though, she was back on the ground, her lips pulled roughly from his. He was instantaneously standing about a foot from her in the deserted hallway with his head ducked low, and she was confused.

"That was Alice's vision?" Neither looked at the other.

"Yes," Alayna whispered. "Jasper, are you-"

"I can't." His voice, low and husky, was full of sorrow as he turned and quickly walked away, leaving Alayna stunned and alone in the middle of the hallway.

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**Sorry this chapter is so short- I have good things planned for the next one so it had to end here haha**

**xo Ana  
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	9. A New Love

Alayna sped home but couldn't even make it up the driveway before she collapsed in tears. Amy burst out the front door and gathered her niece into a tight hug. Alayna gasped, suddenly inside her aunt's mind. Too shocked from the sudden connection, Amy had to all but carry the smaller girl into the house as she tried hard to keep her thoughts to herself before Amy loaded her up with ice cream, making her talk about Jasper, and watching movie after movie until Alayna fell asleep. Amy carried her up the stairs to her room, set her alarm, and put in a call to Carlisle.

"I know it's not my place to pry," Amy began, "but Alayna means the world to me and I could barely stand to see her so upset." Carlisle sighed.

"I understand why," he said, "Alayna is an amazing girl. Jasper cares deeply for her, but he's in the mindset that she can do better. He doesn't want to hurt her." Amy sighed and rubbed her hand over her face.

"She's already hurting, Carlisle," Amy pointed out. "I had to pick her up off the driveway and then after she exhausted herself, I had to carry her to her room."

"I think that we should postpone our Italy trip," Carlisle said after a long pause. "She's not in the right place for it right now and our trip may be a total disaster if she isn't prepared." Nothing he said was a lie, but she could tell that he was keeping something from her.

"What aren't you telling me?" Amy asked with a sigh. "We were friends before our charges were friends, Carlisle. I would hope you would tell me." Amy heard a rustle on the other end and was sure her friend was trying his hardest to remain calm.

"I can't do that, Amy. Doctor-patient confidentiality, you know that." Amy checked the clock, finally realizing what time it was.

"Alright. Well, it's late, Carlisle. I have to get some sleep even if you seem to be able to go without." The doctor chuckled.

"Well for what it's worth, I'm glad you called, Amy. Jasper will be, too."

"Jasper will be what?" Amy heard in the background.

"That's my cue to hang up," Amy said warmly. They bid each other good nights and hung up, Amy nearly falling into bed.

A month and a half passed with Alayna following the same schedule: wake up, run, shower, get ready for school, school- where she had befriended Bella, Angela, Jasper, Alice and definitely Emmett- then home to watch movies or catch up with her old New York friends by phone or e-mail before going to bed and doing it all over again the next day. Alayna missed her two best friends from New York terribly, but she felt comforted by her Forks friends, too.

There was something about Emmett that made her want to be a kid again and she often found herself running through the halls at school with him, singing, dancing, laughing, and having more genuine fun than she had ever had. Although she could never tell him, she was more than grateful to Emmett for keeping her mind off of everything.

Alice was constantly begging her to go shopping with her, and as much as Alayna loved to shop, she didn't have the money and she didn't want to ask Amy for it. She explained it all to Alice in Biology one day and she simply pouted, offering to pay. Of course, Alayna had shot down the idea almost before she could come up with it. Somehow, Alayna seemed to always know what Alice, and even Emmett were thinking, even when she wasn't in their minds.

When it came to Jasper's part in her life, however, Alayna couldn't help but feel the most random things. Though he was always very careful in what he said and did around her, he seemed to be the only one who could calm her anger- though sometimes it was only because of his power, and he often had to use it when Matt would turn around in Calculus and try to flirt with her. She always tried to deflate him, but she got quickly irritated with his feeble attempts. One look to Jasper would have him smiling at her and her floating peacefully beside him. She didn't care anymore why he did it, just that he did. Alayna wasn't sure what she felt for Jasper. She had always gotten the feeling he was hiding something from her. Once in a while she would catch his gaze and see something in his eyes that she couldn't place.

She couldn't help the feeling that she was missing something big about the Cullen family, and Bella often agreed with her. Edward had been avoiding Bella and it was hurting her more than she would let on. More often than not, Alayna would spend her lunches glaring and thinking the meanest things she could about him, as if daring him to look at her, but he never did. As March began, though, she found herself waiting, unsure of what for.

When Alayna woke up on the third day of March, she didn't want to go to school. She showered and dressed slowly, skipping her run and taking her time but not being thorough in what she was doing. She tried to think of anything except Jasper as she drove to school. It was Thursday, she realized as she sat on the bottom of her long raincoat at a picnic table outside, and she had no plans. Like that day, the upcoming weekend was forecasted to be dark and rainy. Angela joined her not long after she sat down, shaking her from her weather thoughts and Alayna smiled at the shy girl.

"Hey," she said as Angela sat across from her, careful to sit on the bottom of her raincoat, too. Angela smiled back.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Unlike most other people who asked, Angela seemed to sincerely care how she was.

"I'm doing better, thanks." They fell into a companionable chatter of classes, homework, and their mutual friends until a dark shadow fell over their already dark table. Both girls looked up to see Jasper standing above them. Angela quickly left with a smile at Alayna, feigning the need to talk to a teacher. Alayna stared at Jasper as he lowered himself to sit where Angela had just been. His eyes stared straight into hers and he spoke so lowly that she had to lean over the table toward him.

"I'm sorry." His voice was urgent and sincere. She simply stared at him.

"What for?" she asked, trying to breeze by how upset she had been the last time they had really talked.

"For not being able to tell you everything, for taking Emmett's side about Italy without thinking about what it meant to you to understand yourself, for _that night_, for waiting almost two months to tell you all of this. Everything I've done to wrong you hurts me. Please know that what I'm saying is true." He reached his hand over the table toward her and she backed away, refusing to let him get close to her if this relationship was going to be how she thought it would be. The pain on his face when she pulled away nearly broke her heart in half and she knew he could see it in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me?"she whispered, knowing he could hear her. "You're always so hot and cold, on and off. I can't be in an unstable relationship, Jasper, no matter how much I lo- _care _about you." Jasper's eyes widened.

"What were you going to say?" he asked. Alayna buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.

"I hardly think this is the place for this," she told him, her voice muffled by her jacket. When she picked her head back up, she noticed that Jasper's eyes were filled with such happiness that she was scared he already knew.

"Say it," he pleaded, "Say it and make me happier than I've ever been."

"I love you," she whispered. He surprised her by taking her face in his hands and kissing her from across the old wooden picnic table. Her heart nearly raced from her chest and she leaned back, thoroughly dazed, when he let her go.

"I love you too," he replied, the smile on his face looking much like that of a child on Christmas. He stood from the table, taking her hand to lead her through the halls. He never let her go and through their connection she could see the pride and happiness he was feeling at having her with him. Jasper leaned against the wall outside Alayna's first class with her rested against his chest, arms wrapped around each other. They were interrupted by Bella as she came down the hallway, walking faster than normal, but not quite jogging. Alayna turned in Jasper's arms to face her friend.

"Hey Jasper," Bella said, turning her attention immediately to Alayna. "Alayna, I need your help."

"Sure, Bella, what's going on?"

"I agreed to go to First Beach down on the La Push reservation and you have to go with me."

"You're worried about going to the beach?" Alayna snickered. "Didn't you move here from Arizona?"

"Mike Newton invited me," Bella said, looking Alayna straight in the eye. Alayna's giggles died in her throat with one final snort and she nodded.

"Okay, I'll go," she agreed with another laugh. She turned suddenly to Jasper. "Did you want to come, Jazz?" The intentionally blank look on Jasper's face startled both girls. He shook his head quickly.

"I promised Edward and Emmett that I'd go hiking with them this weekend," he explained. Then he dropped his voice so that only Alayna could hear. "I wish you wouldn't go, either. They don't trust us, they don't allow us on their land, and if anything should happen to you..." His voice trailed off, nearly cracking at the end.

"Explanation later?" she asked. He gave her a smile that told her it wasn't something he could say. She just nodded, leaning her head against his chest as she turned back to Bella.

"Well, maybe I'm not in," she said. Bella's face took on a tortured look.

"Are you sure?" Looking back at Jasper's pleading face, Alayna nodded.

"Sorry, Bella." Jasper apologized. Bella smiled at him, showing there was no harm done, and shot a look at the clock before sighing.

"Class," she explained, taking off down the hallway again. Once she was out of sight, Alayna turned back to Jasper.

"I have to get in there," she said reluctantly. "I'll see you in calc?" Jasper just gave her a cheeky smile.

"You might see me before that," he said, still smiling as he walked away. She plopped herself into her seat between Alice and Emmett, both staring at her.

"You heard all that, didn't you?" she asked. When neither of them would answer her, she groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

Alayna's first four classes passed quickly, Jasper meeting her outside each of them, and before she knew it she was saying goodbye to him and hurrying to sit at her usual lunch table. Bella had taken to sitting with Edward, and as happy as she was for her friend, she was a little sad to not be able to sit with her. Or sit with Jasper for that matter. As Alayna had expected, Jessica grilled her the second she sat down, wanting to know all about her relationship with Jasper. Alayna shrugged with a smile, wondering if the indifference and love she felt were being influenced by the man she had yet to stop thinking about.

"We're perfect for each other," she said happily, looking up at Jasper to find him smiling at her, too. The girls awwed appropriately and Alayna's smile grew.

"Ohmigosh," Jessica blurted, "you're going on the beach trip this weekend, aren't you?" Alayna laughed at her enthusiasm but shook her head.

"Nah, I think I'm gonna sit this one out."

"Oh." The poor girl looked deflated. "Are you hanging out with Jasper, then?" Jessica inquired, not looking innocent enough to simply be wondering.

"No," Alayna replied, "he's going hiking this weekend with his brothers." The rest of lunch passed with Jessica grilling Alayna about the entire Cullen family and Alayna dodging as many questions as she could, shooting glares and mental threats at Edward every few seconds for stealing Bella from her. By the time Alayna reached her gym class, she was overly irritated and glad for the sport of the next two weeks or so: floor hockey. She looked around to find Bella absent. Confused, she turned to Mike.

"Where's Bella?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Blood testing in biology," he replied. "She got really nauseous and _Cullen_ took her home." Mike spit out Edward's last name like an expletive and it took all Alayna had not to laugh at him. Coach Clapp blew a whistle to get everyone's attention. Smiling apologetically at Mike, she clapped her hand to his shoulder and took her place as a forward, ready to kill anyone who got in her way. As soon as the ball dropped to signal the beginning of the game, Alayna had taken off with it, scoring instantly. She smiled serenely as her teammates congratulated her, feeling at true, non-Jasper-induced peace and ready to let out her aggressions.

By the end of class, Alayna had scored two hat tricks and practically floated back to the locker room to change. Jasper met her outside the locker room and the two walked out of the building together, chatting amiably and flirting, completely oblivious to the stares of everyone around them. Alayna said goodbye to Jasper with a quick hug and got into her car. Instead of heading home, Alayna headed for the hospital, hoping to catch Carlisle at a good time. She had to park farther away than she would have liked and the rain had picked up again, drenching her as she bolted inside the building. She greeted the same nurse as before with a big, forced smile and headed for Carlisle's office. She knocked and he bid her entrance. She sat across from him, hesitating in what she wanted to say.

"I'm sorry if I'm ruining your chair by being wet, but I don't think we should go to Italy," she blurted out, her sentence running together to create one long word. Carlisle smiled.

"The chair is fine, Alayna. Is there a reason why you feel we shouldn't go?"

"I'm worried," she admitted. "With the way Jasper spoke of Aro- the way he _still_ speaks of Aro- it scares me." Carlisle smiled at her paternally.

"I was going to suggest we didn't go so soon," he said. "There are things we can try here before we go trekking across the world." Alayna sat up straighter.

"Like what?"

"Would you be okay with me pulling the tab in the back of your mind?" he asked her bluntly. Alayna bit her lip and debated the idea in her mind.

"Do you know what's going to happen?" she asked timidly. Carlisle shook his head with an apologetic smile. "Can we call Jasper?" Carlisle's smile turned enthusiastic and he picked up the phone, dialing the numbers quickly.

"Jasper!" he greeted. "Could I bother you to help me with something down at the hospital?" At Jasper's confused agreement, Carlisle hung up and turned back to Alayna.

"He'll be here soon," the young doctor promised. "And I have to say in the mean time that I'm glad you've gotten to know my son as you have. I've never seen him happier than when he is with you." Alayna ducked her head with a smile, picking at her fingers.

"Jasper means a lot to me," she told her love's adoptive father. "I can't picture my life without him at this point." Carlisle looked surprised.

"I didn't know it was this serious this quickly," he said, taking Alayna by surprise.

"Do you really think it's too fast?" she asked, alarmed at his concern. Carlisle shook his head.

"There are just things that you and Jasper should tell each other before the two of you get as serious as you're headed."

"Things we should tell each other?" Alayna echoed. "Are you talking about my mother?" Carlisle simply smiled at the young girl before him.

"You'll find that Jasper, Alice, and even Emmett can be spectacular listeners and even more spectacular secret keepers, despite living with a mind-reader," he told her, not answering her question at all. A knock on the door startled Alayna and she turned with a smile as Jasper poked his head inside the door. He looked puzzled but pleased to see her there and a smile widened happily across his beautiful face.

"You're wet and freezing cold," he told her, his smile twisting into a frown. He took off his jacket- which was somehow dry- and threw it around her shoulders. She pulled her arms through the sleeves of his jacket, suddenly surrounded by his smell, and smiled at him as he settled himself into the chair beside her.

"I'm drying," she promised. He smiled then before looking to Carlisle with confusion.

"What did you need me for, Carlisle?" Jasper asked his adoptive father. Before Carlisle could respond, Alayna spoke up.

"I actually asked him to call you," she admitted. "He wants to pull the tab in my mind and I couldn't do it without you." Jasper's smile widened at Alayna's vulnerability and he quickly hugged her sideways with an arm around her shoulders.

"I have a better idea," he said, "if it's okay with you, that is." Alayna cocked her head at her him and he smiled at her reassuringly.

"Could I pull the tab?" Alayna's eyes went wide. She chewed the inside of her cheek for a minute as she considered all possible outcomes.

"Only if you promise me two things," she told him quietly. It was Jasper's turn to cock his head to the side, waiting for her two conditions. "One is that I want you to promise that you're not going to be so on and off all the time." Jasper reached up to stroke her cheek lightly with his ice cold hand.

"I can't live without you," he told her. "So yes, I promise I'm not going to leave you." She smiled and let out a breath of relief.

"The second is that I want to pull yours." Jasper's eye twitched in contemplation and any other time, Alayna would have laughed. Instead she bit her lip and waited for his response.


	10. An Understanding

A/N: I've been trying to post for freaking AGES. It kept telling me the login page was down for maintenance and I was like "Noooooooo!" So I give you another chapter on account of how bad I feel that I couldn't post for so long :] xo Ana

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"I'm afraid you won't like what you see," he whispered, his fear coursing through them both. Her heart pounded at the thickness of his vulnerability. She took his hand and laced her fingers with his, forcing thoughts of the love and devotion she felt for him into his mind.

"I'm not going anywhere if you're not," she promised.

"What if you get...sick again?" he asked, his voice still low. She couldn't help the smile that picked at the corners of her mouth. She reached her hand up to brush his hair from his face tenderly.

"Then just do what we did last time," she told him gently, "but I don't think it will." Jasper looked at Carlisle, undecided. Carlisle simply smiled softly.

"This is your decision, Jasper," he told his son. "I can't help you with this." Jasper turned to Alayna with a shaky smile.

"Okay," he said. "Let's do this."

"Tell me you love me," she begged, holding his face in her hands. He smiled at her, moved her hands, and kissed her cheek softly.

"I love you. Now tell me you love me."

"I do. I love you so much," she whispered. They both turned to Carlisle at the same time.

"What do we do?" Alayna asked.

"Just explore each other's minds," Carlisle said soothingly. "Will you both agree to hold nothing back?" Alayna grabbed Jasper's hand and they both nodded. They turned their chairs to face each other and Jasper slid his other hand into Alayna's as well. They dove into each other, in silent agreement that Jasper would go first.

The sensation Alayna felt was strange as Jasper moved through her memories of New York, leaving her best friends behind, and her fear of what living with her aunt would be like. He fought the urge to hold her close to him as he was enveloped in the fear she felt and instead he dove further into the back of her mind, surfacing the hatred and anger she harbored for her absent father and feeling helpless as she moved across the country. As he moved further into her mind, he found the tab at the back of her mind and yanked hard.

The secrets of her life- her mother's death, her aunt's temporary disappearance, her father's sleazy tendencies- were swimming through Jasper's mind as he uncovered them. All of her memories, habits, insecurities, favorites, and hates were inside his mind. He knew her better than he could have ever hoped to, and after all of her memories had been copied into his, he let go of her hands only to pull her into his lap and hold her tightly as she began to cry.

"I'm so sorry, love," he murmured in her ear as he rocked her gently. "I'm so, _so _sorry you had to put up with all of that. I swear no one will ever hurt you like that again. I'm here and I'm going to protect you always. Do you hear me?" Alayna just nodded, her face buried in his neck and her arms wrapped around it.

"I love you," she whispered, knowing that he could hear her. His arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her hair.

"I love you, too," he said back, his deep voice equally as low. He simply held her until she could calm herself.

"I think I'm okay," she said soon after, her voice still sounding teary.

"Are you sure you still want to pull my tab, too, love?" She pulled her face from his neck and nodded, trying to wipe her tears away. Jasper stilled her hands and used his own thumbs to whisk the wetness from her face. Alayna crawled off Jasper's lap and sat back in her own chair, extending her hands and motioning for him to do the same. He linked his hands with hers again and she found herself falling into his mind. She saw exactly how he felt about her, his interactions with his 'brothers' and 'sisters', how he came to meet the Cullen family with Alice- a strictly sibling kind of love no matter how it looked sometimes, and once she ripped the tab in the back of his mind, she saw how Peter helped him escape from Maria, how the newborns bit him constantly, the year in which he was born, his childhood, the hardships he had in switching from human to animal blood.

Blood. All the blood. _Vampire. _Every Cullen was one. All the pieces fell into place in Alayna's head, and once every one of Jasper's memories, horrors, and happy times were floating around in Alayna's head, he roughly pulled his hands from hers. She frowned as he refused to look at her. He had turned his chair away from hers, his head in his hands, and she could feel the insecurity rolling off of him. She stood from her chair and knelt beside him.

"Jazz?" He didn't move an inch. She pulled on one of his hands but he still didn't budge.

"Jasper." He refused to look at her, still. She forced herself into his lap and wrapped both of her hands around his wrists to keep herself there.

"Jasper Whitlock, will you _look_ at me? I'm not angry with you. I'm not leaving you. Will you please use that beautiful power of yours I hate so much to feel that I have nothing negative to say to you?" He moved his hands then and hers pressed against his face as he looked deep into her eyes.

"How can you love me after you've seen the monster that I've been?" His voice sounded so disgusted that Alayna was taken aback for a second. He lowered his head again.

"You're not a monster, baby," she said. "It was the only life you knew. You're a different person now." He nodded, still not looking so sure of himself.

"Jasper." He didn't look up. "Jazz." Nothing. Alayna wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her despite his solid, statuesque form.

"I _love_ you and that means everything to me," she whispered. He wrapped his arms around her too, and held her tightly as if he feared she would leave if he let her go. Both had forgotten that Carlisle was still in the room, so when he cleared his throat, Alayna jumped and tried to move out of Jasper's grasp as he chuckled behind her and let her turn but didn't let her leave his lap.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked eagerly. Alayna turned her head to look at Jasper before looking back at Carlisle and smiling.

"I know everything there is to know about him, like I assume he knows everything about me, too."

"The two of you are much closer than I could have ever hoped you would be," Carlisle admitted as he watched the young couple before him. Alayna turned to Jasper and placed her hand on his cheek.

"I'm not going to pretend we're going to have the perfect relationship," she told them both as she stared into Jasper's eyes, "but Jasper is my love, my life, my everything. And I won't give this up for anything." Jasper just smiled, his whole face lighting up happily.

"And I won't pretend this isn't about to be the hardest thing I've ever done," he said, his eyes never leaving hers, "but I'll do anything to make sure I never lose you." Carlisle simply smiled at them both, letting them lose themselves in their vows to each other for as long as he dared. Hating to break their content nature, Carlisle forced himself to clear his throat.

"What can you tell me about the tabs?" he asked them.

"They hold back the things you try to hide inside yourself," Alayna said, leaning to touch her forehead to the side of Jasper's curly blonde head. He pretended to pay closer attention to his father figure than he really was while simultaneously tightening his arm around Alayna's waist.

"It contains all the things you could never know about a person so quickly after meeting them," he added. "And some things you could never know about a person. It should have taken years for us to be this comfortable with each other. Not to mention I could probably predict her moods, reactions, and retaliations with a ninety-eight percent accuracy rate." Alayna frowned at him, lifting her head from his to look him in the eye.

"Ninety-eight?" Jasper shot her a breathtaking smile.

"The two percent accounts for the times you'll act spontaneously or not think your actions through." Alayna let out a snort.

"And you're only allotting two percent for that? Jazz, I thought you knew me better than that." He smiled at her comfortingly.

"I do, love," he replied, "that's why I'm only saying two percent. You're usually such a clear thinker." Alayna patted Jasper's hand.

"You're not going to offend me with your honesty," she promised. He smiled playfully.

"Might as well call it 70-30 then, hm?" To the surprise of both men, Alayna laughed aloud.

"That's a little better," she teased. Carlisle was well practiced in hiding the emotions in his face, but his surprise was greater than even he expected as he watched the playful banter between the two loves. As hard as he tried to keep his emotions at bay, Jasper caught them anyway.

"You're surprised," he said, confused. "Why?" Carlisle just smiled at them both.

"It just amazes me how close the two of you have become in a matter of hours. This was a fantastic idea on your part, Jasper, and I'm sure Alayna is as happy as I am that it's your mind she experienced." At Carlisle's mention of the small teen's happiness, she let a smile light her face as she kissed Jasper's cheek swiftly. Carlisle tensed suddenly, not knowing what to expect after her sudden movement. Jasper had seen it coming through his hand laced with hers, and hadn't reacted in the slightest.

"I've gotten past the idea of killing her," Jasper told his mentor, assuming the reason for his tension. "It is still hard, and sometimes I have to stop breathing, but she means so much to me that when I picture her bleeding or dying, I don't feel thirst. I feel-" The blonde searched his mind carefully for the word he wanted, "-empty." Alayna raised her hand to Jasper's face, rubbing his cheekbone lightly with her thumb. Sensing that a private moment was coming, Carlisle stood.

"I have patients to see to," he said, standing from his chair. "Feel free to stay as long as you need, though." With that, he gracefully but quickly left the room. Alayna turned to Jasper with a sigh.

"I should go, too," she said, a pained look on her face. Jasper immediately held her closer and buried his face in her hair.

"No," he said stubbornly. Alayna laughed, running her fingers through his messy blonde locks.

"Yes I should," she said. "Amy will be looking for me." Jasper shook his head against her hair, but immediately tensed and moved his head away. Not breathing, he picked her up, set her in his chair, took a piece of paper from Carlisle's desk, wrote a long note on it, kissed her forehead, and left quickly without another word. Confused, Alayna picked up the paper and read his note.

_My Love, _

_Talking requires breathing, something I didn't trust myself to do in that moment. Your scent is still too strong for my senses to be able to completely work through it. I forget that sometimes, and I truly am sorry that I had to leave you like that. It wasn't as bad as I had expected, which is how I was able to stand and write this to you before I left. I understand that you and Bella have been working together to figure out what we are, but I must ask you not to outright tell her what we are. Alice knows she is close to the answer and while I will not ask you to lie for us, we feel she must come to the conclusion on her own. Stay safe though, as Bella is friends with some of the Quileutes, and they know what we are and don't allow us on their property. This is the answer you wanted earlier: I have to respect the treaty, and I won't be able to reach you on their land if something should happen to you there. I cannot bear to think of you in danger and me not able to reach you. I'm going hunting, not hiking, with my brothers on Saturday as you know, and it will kill me to spend the entire day not knowing if you are safe, so I'll call you the second I get home, alright?_

_I love you,_

_Jasper_

Alayna found herself smiling despite the negative feelings she knew Jasper must have been feeling right then. She silently agreed to not tell Bella anything other than confirming what she was inevitably going to find out. Folding Jasper's note and sticking it in the pocket of his jacket which she realized she was still wearing, she penned her own note to Carlisle, thanking him for his help and asking him to tell Jasper that she wasn't angry with him for the terms on which he had to leave. She signed her name at the end and left it on his desk, slipping out of his office and running back out in the rain to her car.

Amy was already asleep and it was already dark when she got home. Alayna popped in a movie, choosing a Lean Cuisine out of the freezer for dinner. When she could barely keep her eyes open, she finally trudged up the stairs to her room and quickly fell asleep.

School on Friday was painful without Jasper. Although she knew he was hunting, she still didn't like that she didn't have access to him, and she was sure her mood was annoying her friends.

Saturday morning, Alayna's eyes opened in a strange happiness. She pulled on a sports bra and cotton shorts, going for her run as Bella was leaving for the Newton's store- the meeting place for the beach trip. Alayna stopped in the driveway when Bella beckoned to her.

"Are you sure you can't come?" Bella asked, her face looking equally as tortured as the previous day. Alayna nodded.

"Come by when you get back, though," Alayna made her promise, "and tell me all about it! I have laundry and homework and stuff to do." Bella laughed and reluctantly left, letting Alayna continue her run. As she neared the house, she could hear buzzing. The closer she got to the house, the louder it was. Frowning, Alayna slowly walked up the porch steps and opened the door.

"Amy?" she asked, her voice wavering in cautiousness.

"In the kitchen!" her aunt called out. Alayna made her way there, the buzzing getting louder. When she was but ten feet from her aunt, who was mixing something chocolaty, she could hear everything she was thinking. Which- thankfully- all revolved around the brownie recipe. Carefully keeping her own thoughts back, she leaned against the door jam.

"Do you have a number where I can reach Doctor Cullen?" Alayna asked, "I've been having bad.. migraines... and I want to let him know." Never having been a good liar, Alayna fumbled for an excuse.

"On the fridge," Amy responded, still stirring her chocolate mixture. Alayna grabbed the cordless and punched in the numbers as they appeared below his name on the refrigerator. She quickly wandered away, noticing that the farther she went, the less she heard from her aunt's mind.

"Hello?" Alice's beautiful wind-chime voice answered.

"Hey Alice, it's Alayna."

"I know," she said simply. "Carlisle?"

"Yeah, thanks." Conversations with Alice were so much easier when the little pixie knew exactly what she wanted.

"Hello?"

"Hey Carlisle, it's Alayna."

"Are you alright?" he asked, "you sound a little panicked."

"That's because I can hear Amy's thoughts without touching her," she hissed. "What do I do?!" Carlisle made a noise in surprise.

"You're sure?" he questioned.

"How could I not be?" she shrieked quietly. Carlisle chuckled a little.

"That's true," he said. "There's no real need to worry, though," he told her soothingly, "it's just your power progressing. The more you use it, the more you'll get to know it. Consider it like a friend to you." Alayna sighed.

"Okay," she said, resigned. "Thanks, Carlisle." He chuckled again.

"I know that's not the answer you were hoping for," he told her, "but you'll get better with practice, just as Edward, Alice and Jasper did." Alayna brightened at hearing her love's name. She heard muffled noises in the background and before she could ask what was going on, Alice was back on.

"Alayna?"

"Yes?"

"Let's go shopping!" she squealed. Alayna laughed.

"I'd love to, but I'm broke, Alice," she reminded. "I'm still looking for a job."

"We're a perfect fit then!" Alice giggled.

"How so?"

"I see the future, remember?" she said, impatient for Alayna to catch her drift.

"Alice, I don't get your point."

"I've been predicting stock market wins for our family for years, Alayna," she said. "We have enough cash floating around our house to feed and clothe a not-so-small nation, and _I_ want to spend money on _you_."

"Alice!" Alayna exclaimed. "I appreciate it, but I can't let you do that."

"Consider it part of your birthday present. When is your birthday?"

"Um, July..."

"Well that doesn't matter, I'm sure I will have come up with something better by then. Please please please?" Alayna sighed with a laugh.

"I'll go with you, but you're not buying me anything." Alice squealed in happiness and Alayna got the feeling no one else really liked to go with her. Alayna told her aunt she was leaving with Alice shortly and went upstairs to shower and change. By the time she got out of the shower, she heard the buzzing again and hoped desperately that Amy wasn't in her room. Instead, she found that Alice was inside her closet, looking like she wanted to weep and thinking the nicest things about her.

"Alice, I hear you, too! And how did you get in here? Oh! Are you alright?" Alice turned to Alayna with a nod, not looking at all surprised about Alayna's new progression.

"Amy let me in," she said mistily. "Oh, Alayna, if I could cry I would."

"What for?"

"Your closet is beautiful!" Alice wailed. Alayna just laughed.

"Then pick something for me to wear," she allowed as she slipped her underwear on. The two girls spent an hour and a half searching through Alayna's closet, as Alayna herself had yet to do that. Finally, Alice allowed her to wear a pair of cute jeans with a soft green sweater. Alayna pulled Jasper's jacket on over her sweater and let his scent wash happily over her while Alice watched with an arched eyebrow and amused smirk, saying nothing.


	11. A Conversation to Remember

**A/N: I'm giving you this chapter plus another because I'm leaving tomorrow morning for spring break in California!! :] I won't have my laptop with me, so I won't be able to post anything. SO, I'm hoping to have lots of reviews to read when I get back, my lovely readers!! xo Ana**

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They left soon after in Carlisle's Mercedes, tearing off for Port Angeles. Talking happily the whole way there, neither girl felt like it took the hour that it should have, although with Alice's driving it probably didn't. The entire day was spent with both girls flitting from store to store, picking things out for the other to try on, even if it was just to laugh at how ridiculous they looked. Alice seemed more than happy to be with someone else who had fashion knowledge even though Alayna didn't want to buy anything.

"I can just borrow your stuff later," Alayna had teased the girl. They had found in Alayna's closet that they could wear the same size tops, but Alice was a size thinner in pants. By the time Alice drove home, drowsiness was starting to seep into Alayna's body.

"Don't fall asleep!" Alice warned. "Bella is waiting for you." Alayna groaned and stretched.

"What am I going to tell her?" Alayna asked.

"Didn't you see my vision?" Alice asked with a frown. Alayna shook her head.

"I've been practicing not thinking about your thoughts all day today," she said proudly. Alice rolled her eyes, pulling up in Alayna's driveway.

"You're a better person than Edward for that," she said dryly. She let her mind go back over her vision, letting Alayna see what was about to happen. Alayna gave Alice a quick hug before darting out of the Mercedes and into the house, shooting a quick wave at Alice before closing the door.

"Alayna!" Amy bellowed from the kitchen. "Come eat brownies with us!" Alayna laughed and kicked her shoes off at the door, wandering through the dining room and into the kitchen to find her aunt eating brownies at the bar counter with Bella. Alayna began laughing immediately.

"Hey, Bella," she greeted, picking up a brownie from the pan and walking over to them. Amy stood as Alayna approached.

"That's my cue!" she said cheerfully, walking upstairs to let the girls talk. Alayna led Bella to the living room, prepping herself for a conversation she wasn't sure how to have, despite Alice's vision's help.

"I think I know something about the Cullens," Bella said nervously. "But I don't know how you'll take it, because it took me a while to get used to." Alayna arched an eyebrow.

"I know some things too," Alayna admitted. "But you have to go first." Bella chewed her lip for a second, trying to decide how to word her epiphany.

"I think," she began, "that the Cullens are vampires." Alayna was taken aback at how quickly Bella had worked everything out.

"Tell me why you think that."

"I was talking to Jacob Black, an old friend of the family, and he was telling me about some of the old Quileute legends. One of them was about..." Bella's voice dropped, "..the cold ones. Blood drinkers." Alayna nodded, remembering what she had seen in Jasper's mind about the Quileutes and their knowledge.

"You're right," Alayna said, her voice lacking the awe Bella expected. "The Quileutes have a very old memory of the things that have happened in this area."

"How do you know?"

"Promise you won't laugh, or get freaked out, or-"

"Alayna! I promise!" Bella said with a laugh, cutting her friend off. Alayna put her head in her hands, trying to figure out how to tell her friend about her power.

"I read minds," she said bluntly. Bella just stared at her.

"Can you read mine?" Bella asked. Alayna shrugged.

"I think I have to touch people with extreme emotions the first time for it to work. At first it was just the Cullens I heard, and only when I touched them. Now I hear my aunt- that's scary sometimes- and I hear the Cullens very easily. The more familiar I get with their mind, the easier it is for me to read it, and keep tabs on it."

"When did you find out?" Alayna thought back to the first time it had happened.

"Emmett," she remembered. "Emmett laid his arm along mine in Spanish one day and I could hear everything he was thinking. It was surface at first, too. The more it progressed and the more I worked on it, the better it got."

"Woah."

"You're telling me," Alayna said with a laugh.

"Okay, changing gears. What's with your relationship with Jasper?" Bella asked. "Edward said he stayed at the hospital with you, everyone at school knows how he cornered you in the hallway after lunch that day, and I'm sure more people know about how cutesy the two of you were being all Thursday." Alayna winced at the memory of Jasper's anger at her decision to go to Italy.

"I met Jasper my first day here, in Calculus- remember how I told you about it?" Bella nodded and Alayna continued. "About a week later, that day I was late and left early-"

"The day I left the note on your door?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. Sorry about never coming over, by the way." Bella waved her off. "Well, that was the first time I figured out that I could do this weird mind-reading thing," she said. "It was with Emmett in Spanish, then Alice in Bio and I ended up getting angry at Emmett in the hall before Calculus and leaving then. Later that night, he and Jasper showed up at my house, and when Jasper went to touch me for the first time, it somehow threw me into a seizure." Bella's eyes went wide.

"Holy crow," she breathed. "Are you serious?" Alayna nodded with a wry smile on her face and Bella sat back against the couch, not realizing she had been leaning in to better hear her friend's story.

"I woke up two days later in the hospital. Carlisle tried to explain a few things to me, but there was something big they weren't telling me and now I know it was about their being vampires. Carlisle also mentioned a man named Aro- has Edward told you about him?"

"No, who is he?"

"No idea," Alayna admitted. "But Carlisle said that he had a power similar to mine because Aro can rifle through things in your mind. No one seems to understand how I can project my thoughts into others' heads, though."

"Do you think your power works on everyone?" Bella asked. Alayna considered her answer carefully before responding.

"I don't know," she said. "I would like to think so, but I'm not sure and neither is Carlisle." Bella chewed her lip thoughtfully.

"This is insane," Bella finally muttered after a few minutes' silence. Alayna just nodded.

"Want to know something else weird?" At Bella's nod, Alayna continued. "There's a tab in the back of every mind that holds back your deepest secrets. Jasper and I pulled each others', and now I know everything there is to know about him. He knows everything about me, too." Bella just looked at her.

"You're joking." The way Bella stated it, it was like she was begging Alayna to agree that it was outrageous and that she had made the entire story up. Alayna shook her head.

"'Fraid not," she said. "But I do have a request of you." Bella nodded emphatically.

"Anything."

"If I ever have a really intense emotion, like happiness, sadness, anger.. Will you touch me? I want to know if I can read your mind." Alayna remembered back to a conversation she had with Edward about not being able to read Bella's mind and Alayna wondered if she'd be able to, either. The ringtone of Alayna's cell phone interrupted their thought processes and Alayna smiled as she picked up, shooting Bella an apologetic look.

"Hello?"

"Hello, love. Did you have fun with Alice today?" Alayna laughed, feeling a thousand times better now that she was hearing Jasper's voice.

"Of course I did," she said. "And she didn't seem as upset as I would have thought she'd be when I wouldn't let her buy me anything." Jasper was quiet. Too quiet for Alayna's piece of mind. "Jasper," she warned. "Jasper, what did she do?"

"Go check your bedroom when we get off the phone," he told her. "Are you alone?" Jasper was trying too hard to remain aloof. Something had to be up.

"No, why?"

"Has the talk happened yet?"

"The what?" A lightbulb went off in Alayna's head. "Oh! You've talked to Alice."

"Yes, she was very informative. So has it?"

"Yes. Is that bad?"

"No, just wondering. Can we tell anyone?" Alayna knew who the 'someone' Jasper referred to was and hoped that if Edward was around, Jasper was keeping his thoughts elsewhere.

"Alice didn't? Are you and Alice the only ones that know?"

"The two of us wanted to know what you thought first, and I said I'd call you."

"I'd prefer you didn't just yet. Let it work out on its own," Alayna advised, trying to make it look like she wasn't talking about Bella with her right there. "But I should probably let you go, baby. Bella and I are having some girl talk. I've been talking about you and I want to get back to it." Alayna hoped desperately that he caught the hidden meaning in her statement, and she wasn't disappointed.

"Have you told her about what I do?"

"No. Can I?" Jasper made a strange noise and Alayna couldn't help but laugh.

"What was that?" she asked of him in between giggles. Bella had wandered into the kitchen for a second brownie at Alayna's go-ahead wave.

"If you want to, you can. I just don't want to overload her."

"And you don't want _his_ out yet," she guessed, trying her hardest to remain cryptic. Now she was sure Edward was near him. Jasper praised her intelligence with a sharp "Yes!"

"Exactly," he said. "You understand why, of course?"

"Definitely," she said. "I'm already out though. Is there a problem with that?"

"Not unless you have a problem with it."

"I don't. It's better this way, I think. Did Carlisle tell you about my progression with Alice?"

"Yes. Your aunt, too. Are you okay with all of this?"

"How can I not be? It's going to happen either way." Bella was coming back, having taken a really long time to get that brownie. "I really should let you go," she told him reluctantly. Jasper sighed on the other end, making his unhappiness known.

"I miss you," he said sadly.

"I miss you too, baby," she soothed. "We'll be back together soon, though, and you know it. I love you."

"Love you too, Alayna." They hung up and Bella eyed Alayna.

"Love?" she asked. "You've already gotten there?" Alayna nodded.

"It's easier to be there when you know each others' minds like your own," she said with a small smile.

"Do you think love is a strong enough emotion?" Bella questioned, holding her hand out for Alayna to take. Folding her hand into her friend's, Alayna closed her eyes and concentrated heavily on her intense love for Jasper. Bella gasped soon after and Alayna's eyes popped open.

"I can hear that," she said. "Can you hear me thinking?" Alayna now concentrated on Bella's mind, but she wasn't getting a read.

"No," she scowled. "I can't hear you. You could hear me, though?" Bella nodded before blushing.

"You were thinking about Jasper," she said. Alayna dropped Bella's hand and tried to push a thought into Bella's head about how comfortable the couch was.

"Can you hear me?" Alayna asked. Bella nodded again.

"The couch," she whispered. "You're thinking about the couch." Alayna then thought about Jasper again, but didn't try to push the thought into Bella's head.

"Did you hear that?" she asked. Bella shook her head and Alayna clapped her hands together.

"Excellent," she said with a smile. "When I held your hand, it was easier to push my thoughts into your mind. When I didn't, it still worked! The last time, I was just thinking without pushing it anywhere. I wanted to see if I could keep my thoughts from you." The two talked for a while longer about their unusual situation, Alayna trying again and again to get into Bella's mind. She thought the last time that she had almost gotten it, but she was so exhausted that she wasn't sure if she made it up in her own mind or not.

"We'll try again later," Alayna promised as she let Bella out of her house late that night. The two girls exchanged a smile before Alayna closed the door and trudged upstairs. She opened her bedroom door to find her room littered with shopping bags and a note on her bed in Alice's handwriting that simply read, "_For your closet_". Alayna groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Alice," she whined.

"Wrong vampire."


	12. A Dream and a Power Extension

**A/N: Happy reading! xo Ana**

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She whirled to face the voice and her entire body nearly melted to see Jasper standing before her with a grin. Every fiber of her being ached to race to him, but she held back, not knowing if that was okay. He cocked his head at her and she heard the confusion run through his mind.

"Shit," Alayna swore. Jasper raised an eyebrow. "I can hear you, too," she explained, momentarily distracted from her need to touch him. "This is progressing so quickly, Jasper. I spent all of today trying to ignore Alice's thoughts. I can't hear every human yet, but I can hear all of you without touching you, it seems." Jasper, sensing her frustration, moved closer to her and reached his hand out to touch hers. Knowing what he wanted, she immediately ran through her time without him as he did the same (although doing his best to skip the hunting part, no matter that she'd already seen it in his mind), effectively catching each other up on their lives without a word. Once they finished, Jasper crushed her to his chest, Alayna not minding one bit. She wrapped her arms around him, too, holding him tightly to her body.

"I missed you so much," she whispered.

"Missed you, too." He sighed, deeply breathing in the scent of her hair. She stiffened, expecting him to pull away. Chuckling deeply, Jasper let run the lack of fear he had at her scent since he had hunted. She relaxed, melting into him. He picked her up effortlessly and laid her into bed, feeling in her mind that her exhaustion had caught up to her. When he went to move away from her, she clutched at his arm.

"Don't go," she whimpered.

"Okay," he soothed. When she didn't let go of her surprisingly strong grip on his arm, he eased into the bed beside her, wrapping her in blankets to keep her warm before letting her curl into his chest. Alayna fell asleep shortly after Jasper's head hit her pillow, the day's activities finally wearing her down. He folded his arms tightly around her small frame, not letting her move and not letting anyone near her. He closed his eyes, too, knowing that he'd be seeing her dreams shortly. Sure enough, not minutes later, he saw himself flash through her mind, although not in the way he had expected.

Blood was everywhere. There were three figures, obviously vampires, who were challenging the Cullen family. They had massacred half the town searching for something, although no one knew what. Jasper knew he would have to keep an eye on everything in this dream in case it turned out to be the start of visions like what Alice had. In the dream, Jasper stood in front of Alayna, like he knew he would if it came down to that. He crouched defensively in front of her as Rosalie flung her on her back and took off without a second thought.

Rosalie? That didn't make sense. She hated everything about the human girls that Jasper and Edward were seeing. If anyone would take Alayna away from danger, Jasper would have expected it to be himself, Alice, Emmett, or even Esme. The blood only continued, as Alayna's dream counted body after body of people she knew; people from New York and from Forks. The only person Jasper never saw dead (who wasn't technically already dead) was Bella, and he wondered the significance of that. When her mother's dead body flashed before her eyes, Alayna jerked awake, ripping from Jasper's arms to sit up, folding her arms over her knees and sobbing. Before she could blink, Jasper's entire body was wrapped around hers. She threw her arms around his neck in a death grip, although the feeling was similar to hugging a statue. Jasper's hand rubbed her back soothingly as he held her close. Her tears subsided, but she didn't let go.

"Did you see?" Alayna's voice was raw from crying.

"Yes," he whispered back, "and I'm so sorry, darlin'. I said I'd protect you and I didn't. I'm so sorry." She shushed him with her lips on his, having told his mind with hers that it would happen.

"This was out of your control," she promised. "Was that real?" Jasper ran a hand through his hair, knowing what she meant without having to ask.

"I'm not sure. I'll ask Alice if she's seen anything like that. Don't forget how subjective Alice's visions are, though, darlin'," he reminded her. Alayna nodded.

"Can we ask her now?" she asked.

"You want to call her?" Alayna shook her head.

"I don't feel safe in this house," she whispered. Jasper held her tighter, knowing she didn't mean she felt unsafe with him, just that the house was unfamiliar to her and besides him, only held two human women.

"We'll go to my house," he promised, soothing her worries.

"What about Amy?"

"I'm sure we can find a couple family members to circle your house every hour or so to make sure everything is in order." Alayna smiled largely and happily kissed Jasper's cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered. She got out of bed and threw a change of clothes from the things Alice had just bought her into her duffel bag, barely looking at them. She already knew she'd love everything because she and Alice had the same sort of fashion sense. Adding a few extra necessities to her bag, she left Amy a note on the counter saying she was going to see Alice for a late sleepover and Jasper drove Alayna's car over to the Cullens' house. Alice was there to receive them as soon as they got back, pulling Alayna tight into her arms.

"Did you see it, too?" Alayna asked quietly. Alice nodded and the two shared what they had seen.

"Mine's different," Alice said. "I didn't see the massacres you saw. I didn't see that they meant us harm at all." Jasper led his love into the house and sat her on the couch, Alice on one side and himself on the other.

"But you saw those three vampires?" Alice nodded in confirmation.

"I've seen them for a while, but this is the first time they've meant harm."

"Should we leave?" Alayna whispered.

"No," Edward growled as he entered the room, having heard their chaotic thoughts. "I'm not leaving Bella and we can't take her with us without suspicions arising." Alayna saw the blinding fear in Edward's mind and she reached a smile out to him, sending him a thought of how she didn't want to leave Bella any more than he did.

Edward's head jerked up to look at her.

"That's never happened to me before," he whispered. "You're in my head. You can put thoughts in my head." Alayna smiled a real smile at him with a nod despite her fear.

"I'm surprised you didn't know," she told him. "Alice, Jasper and Carlisle know and I thought for sure you'd hear something in their minds." Edward shook his head at her, looking at his siblings.

"They never said anything," he said in awe, and Alayna knew he wasn't just talking about the things they had said out loud. Alayna pushed the memory of how she had managed to put thoughts in Bella's head the night before in Edward's head and his eyes grew wide.

"You could do that?" Alayna nodded.

"But I couldn't hear her," she said. "She could only hear me, and only when I forced it into her head. I can do it without touching her now. I wonder if I could forge a connection between the two of you so _you_ could put thoughts in her head," Alayna wondered aloud. Carlisle, who had entered the room unnoticed along with Emmett, Rosalie, and who Alayna assumed to be Esme, simply smiled reassuringly at her when she looked up at him. She was quickly introduced to the maternal figure of the Cullen household and loved her instantly. She reminded her so much of her own mother, and she put that thought into Esme's head with a picture of her own mother.

"Thank you," Alayna said out loud, her eyes watering as Esme hugged her tightly. Alayna settled back into the couch when Esme let her go, leaning into Jasper who immediately put his arm around her. Rosalie, to her credit, was very quiet, and wasn't even thinking mean things about Alayna, although Alayna wasn't sure if that was because she knew she'd get in trouble if anyone found out she was thinking horrible thoughts or because she really didn't think those things anymore. Whichever it was, Alayna was just glad she didn't have to hear bad things about herself.

After barely listening to everyone's conversations, Jasper picked her exhaustion out of her moods and ordered her up to his room to sleep. He went with her, his arm around her shoulders to keep her upright. Twisting the doorknob and setting a hand on her back to lead her through the door, he turned on the light and Alayna turned to him with a small smile.

"Why do you have a bed if you don't sleep?" she asked. He smiled lazily and ran a hand down the side of her face from her forehead to her chin.

"Because you sleep," he pointed out. "Alice saw you coming here and ordered it." Alayna nodded shyly.

"You didn't have to do this for me," she said, looking at the ground. "I'm okay with couches." With an exasperated eye roll, Jasper picked her up off her feet and laid her in bed.

"Would you like me to change your clothes for you, too?" he asked with a grin, pulling her shoes off her tiny feet. Alayna shook her head.

"I'm just going to sleep like this," she said, burying her head in the pillows. Jasper growled playfully.

"At least a pair of sweatpants?" he asked. "For me?" Alayna sighed.

"Bring 'em here," she requested, not willing to leave the bed. He threw a pair at her and she unbuttoned her jeans, sliding them down while Jasper was looking for a shirt for her to wear. He turned around with one and gasped, whirling back around and bumping into the dresser. Confused, Alayna pulled her jeans off the rest of the way and pulling her sweatpants on.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, glad the perplexion was so apparent in her voice, as he still wouldn't look at her.

"Are you clothed?" he asked, gripping the dresser.

"Yes." Jasper turned back around and came to lay on the bed with her.

"You make it very hard for me to be a gentleman," he told her, anxiety written in his eyes.

"Then don't be," she requested. She pulled his lips to hers and he kissed her back, but very carefully. She noticed that most of his thoughts revolved around being careful, and the need to not lose his head. Growling, she sat up, knowing he would sit up with her, and straddled his lap swiftly. Gasping in surprise, Jasper flipped them over and Alayna was happy to note that his every thought was of her, not his control. Lust glazed over each of them as their hands roamed the other's body, but an uncharacteristic moan from Alayna had Jasper pulling away and sitting on the dresser across the room. Alayna just stared at him.

"If this is about you being a gentleman, stop right now, Jasper Whitlock." He lifted his head to look at her.

"Do you not realize how easy it would be for me to kill you?" he whispered. "You test my resolve as if you're so sure of me."

"I _am_. Jazz, I know you're not going to hurt me."

"But I could!" he shouted. "Don't you understand? All it takes is for me to lose control one time and you're gone. I can't lose you, Alayna, and I absolutely refuse to lose you by my own hand!" Alayna raised an eyebrow.

"Are you finished?" she asked. He simply glowered at her. Alayna rolled her eyes and got out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere where the people are a lot less crazy than you!" she shouted unnecessarily. As soon as she slammed the door behind her, Emmett yanked her into a room and closed the door. There was a bed in their room too, but looking at Rosalie perched on the edge, Alayna suspected it wasn't because a human was going to sleep there. Alayna looked up at Emmett expectantly and he launched into his tirade.

"Rosie and I want to see if you can do that projection thing you were talking to Edward about, because that'd be really cool and we just want you to know you can test it on us and it'd be really _really_ cool and-" Alayna's laugh cut him off.

"Emmett, just tell me to do it."

"Do it!" he bellowed. Alayna began to laugh harder.

"Okay, okay! I don't know what to do, though." She looked to Rosalie hesitantly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked the beautiful blonde. Rosalie took a deep breath before responding.

"I don't know how to react to you," she began. "I don't understand you, and I will probably never understand your relationship with Jasper. You might be a good person, worthy of my brother's love, but I don't know that yet, and I'm sorry but I'm not ready to find out. So if you'll pardon my harshness, let's just do this." Alayna sat on the edge of the bed facing Rosalie with her legs crossed underneath her, a few feet from the blonde. That had been the most Rosalie had said to her _ever_, and Alayna was surprised she had admitted as much as she had.

"That's okay," Alayna said in reply. "I can understand that as long as you don't purposely shut me out. I can't understand that." Rosalie just nodded and Emmett, who had been uncomfortably shifting throughout the whole conversation, burst out suddenly.

"Can we do this thing or not?!" Both girls laughed together suddenly and Alayna nodded.

"Okay, Em," she said, "let's do this. I'll grab your mind and try to force your thoughts into Rosalie's mind without my reaching into it. Think we can do this?" Emmett's face was eager and ready and Rosalie's was alight with happiness at her husband's obvious good mood.

Alayna reached her mind out and managed to wrap it around Emmett's as Edward burst through the door, telling Alayna's mind with his that he just wanted to watch. She took her grip on Emmett's mind and thrust it into Rosalie's without her being connected at all.

"Edward," she panted, concentrating hard, "is it working? Is Emmett putting thoughts inside Rosalie's mind without me?"

"It's working beautifully," he said in awe. "Emmett and Rose can put memories and thoughts into each others' heads and even pull the dividers and you're not involved in the slightest. Alayna, how are you doing this?" Suddenly, her eyes rolled back and she pitched off the bed, passed out cold.


	13. An Old Hatred Arising Anew

**A/N: I'M BACK!! :D Thanks for the love, guys. Really, ya'll keep me going :] Please please keep reviewing!! xo Ana**

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When Alayna awoke, she was back in Jasper's room, lying on the bed with him running his fingers through her hair. Her mind told his how wonderful it felt and he looked down into her eyes. The look in his haunted butterscotch-colored eyes scared her.

"How long have I been out?" she asked, her voice groggy.

"About half the day," he said, his voice matching the look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" His look immediately snapped into anger.

"You almost died, Alayna. That's what's wrong. I don't know why you have this sudden wish to no longer exist. Next you'll be telling me you want to be a vampire!" She knew he was covering his fear, but she couldn't help that her natural tendency to fight began to rise up in her. Her voice stayed low despite her anger, and she felt her skin begin to ice.

"I do, actually," she informed him. "I had hoped that was in your plans from the day you made me tell you I loved you. I had thought that you would want us to be equals. I guess I was wrong." With that, she got up and tried to leave, but his ice cold hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Please don't go," he whispered, his voice sounding hollow. "I almost lost you once today; please don't make me watch you walk away again." Alayna flung herself at the bed, pouncing on her love, her arms wrapping around his neck as his tightened considerably around her waist, his face buried in her hair as she kissed his neck over and over. She pulled his head back and kissed him full on the lips. Jasper flipped them carefully so that he was on top of her with her lying back on the bed.

"I love you," he whispered as he kissed every inch of her face.

"I love you, too," she promised, bringing his lips back to hers. "I'm sorry I scared you. Did Emmett, Rosalie or Edward tell you what happened?" she asked, suddenly excited. Jasper's mouth continued down her neck, leaving a trail of kisses in its path. The further down he went, the harder it was for Alayna to come up with coherent thoughts, and she pushed that through their link, making it harder for him to think as well. He shook his head as he kissed down her body, choosing to press his lips over her clothing.

"They told me the basics," he said between kisses. "That you were trying something new and straining."

"I put Emmett inside Rosalie's mi..min…mind without me being in..in… Dammit, Jazz if you don't stop I can't tell you the story," she breathed, gripping his messy blonde locks in her tiny hands. He snickered as he moved back up her body, flipping them both over and settling his arms around her waist as she folded her arms over his chest and rested her chin on her arms, her body molded to his as she laid atop him.

"Alright, darlin'," he said. "Tell me the story." Alayna's eyes lit up.

"I put Emmett inside Rosalie's mind without myself being anywhere in there," she said proudly. Jasper looked confused.

"How?"

"I don't know. I didn't even know I was doing it. Edward was there too, and he told me I was doing it. How cool is that?" Jasper smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Your power is expanding and growing more rapidly than we all thought," he said. "I wonder if Carlisle is worried, or has any theories."

"Wanna go ask him?" Alayna went to roll off of him to move to the door when he grabbed hold of her leg and dragged her back. Alayna began to laugh hysterically as he picked her up and dangled her under his arm by her waist, walking through the halls of his house, greeting everyone they passed with her just hanging at his side, her face reddening by the minute as he walked to Carlisle's office.

Emmett laughed harder than Alayna thought a person could ever laugh, and even slapped her butt, laughing louder when she squeaked. Rosalie smiled with an eye roll, Alice greeted them like normal, and Edward came out of his room to simply lean against his doorframe and smirk at them. When they got close to the door, Alayna started laughing again. Jasper stopped walking and frowned down at her.

"What?" he asked.

"They can hear us coming. Carlisle says to just come in." Jasper looked at her incredulously and walked inside the room. Carlisle was sitting in the chair behind his desk with Esme on the arm and the two of them were going over something when Jasper walked in with Alayna still tucked under his arm. Esme started to scold her son when Alayna started laughing hysterically again. When all three of them looked at her, she managed to lower it to giggles.

"What's so funny, missy?" Jasper asked. Alayna shook her head, her face bright red.

"Jasper Whitlock, put her _down_," Esme said with a frown. Jasper set Alayna back on her feet and she swayed a little, still giggling. She leant into him completely to avoid falling over and he wrapped his arm securely around her as the blood rushed back through her body.

"To what do we owe this wonderful surprise?" Carlisle asked from his chair, looking on with an amused smile.

"Did Edward tell you what happened?" Alayna asked, leading Jasper to sit in the chair across from Carlisle and seating herself on his knees. She was surprised at how forward she was being, but she felt like she belonged in this house with these people so she wasn't concerned they would think her too forward. Jasper tightened his arms around her when he felt the thought go through her, because she still couldn't control her thoughts while touching anyone.

"Yes," Carlisle said, breaking them from their thoughts. "Edward came to see us when you fainted. I tried to assure him that it was simply exhaustion, but he was so excited that I had to ask him why. He told me all about what happened between you, Emmett and Rosalie. To be honest, I had no idea your power had progressed this far. What all can you do, Alayna?" Alayna fidgeted uncomfortably on Jasper's lap, forcing him to hold her still and letting his sudden lust lick through her like flames. Her eyes went wide and she turned to give him an apologetic smile before turning back around to Carlisle.

"Well," she started. "There's the touching of people. I can't control that. If one of you touches me, you're in my mind whether you like it or not. Then there's you guys, who I don't have to touch to hear, and I can push my thoughts in, too. My aunt! I can push thoughts in her head. Well, maybe. I haven't tried yet because that would mean telling her. Oh, Bella's too. I know I can put thoughts in her head. But I can hear my aunt and I can't hear Bella. Then there's today's thing, where I can apparently put people into other people's heads without my interference."

"The dream," Jasper interrupted. Alayna turned to him in confusion.

"The dream?"

"The reason we're here, love." Alayna nodded when she realized.

"Oh. That dream." Carlisle looked at the pair.

"What can you tell me about it?" he asked. Alayna smiled at him.

"Don't you mean 'what can I show you'?" Carlisle smiled.

"I'm an old man, remember," he teased. "I'm entitled to forget things sometimes. Could you show me, dear one?" Alayna cocked her head to the side a bit and replayed the memory in Carlisle's mind as she had seen it in Jasper's, since he remembered it more clearly than she did. Alayna just watched him watch the dream over and over, unable to stop seeing it.

"What does it mean?" Jasper asked. "Is it like the visions Alice has, or just her mind trying to warn her of a problem?" Carlisle shook his head.

"It's hard to tell. What has Alice said about it?"

"She said hers was similar, but that they didn't mean us harm. Although neither of us saw their faces." Alayna looked to her fingers, interlaced with Jasper's, as she spoke. "Carlisle, I'm scared." Her mentor's eyes filled with compassion.

"I know you are, dear one. I would be concerned if you weren't. This is a scary situation we've put you in and I'm sorry, but I fear we may need you now." Alayna nodded her head, finally looking up at him. Esme, who had been quiet through the whole thing, suddenly got up and hugged Alayna tightly.

"You're such a brave girl," Esme dry sobbed.

"Oh, Esme, please don't cry. It's going to be okay, you'll see."Alayna soothed her as she held her, rubbing her back.

"Is there anything I can get you, love?" Esme asked as she straightened up. There was a pleading look in her eye that told Alayna she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Well," Alayna said shyly, "I'm kind of hungry." Esme's eyes widened.

"Let's get you fed, then!" she said, bustling the smaller girl from the room. Alayna threw a smile over her shoulder when she heard Jasper's silent thanks at her understanding that Esme needed to take care of her.

Once they reached the kitchen, Alayna sat atop a swiveling bar stool while Esme sifted through the cupboards.

"What would you like, dear?" she asked. Alayna shrugged.

"What can I have?" Emmett wandered in the room and sat beside her.

"Whatever you want!" he thundered, making Alayna laugh. He then nudged her arm with his until she looked at him.

"I'm glad you're okay, little sis." He said. His words made Alayna tear up.

"Really?"

"Of course!" he said. "Who else has this much fun with me?" Alayna shook her head.

"Not that. You think I'm like a little sister to you?" Emmett just stared at her as if she were crazy.

"Don't you see me as a brother?" he asked. Alayna's head bobbed up and down.

"It's just that I'm an only child," she said, laying her head on Emmett's arm. He ruffled her hair once and simply sat beside her as Esme whipped up spaghetti. Alayna finally jerked her head up.

"What time is it? Forget that, what _day_ is it?"

"Monday afternoon," Emmett told her, "and judging by the sun's position in the sky, I'd say it's about 3:32." Alayna looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"The sun's position?" she said, not buying it for a second. Emmett ducked his head.

"Or the time on the microwave," he admitted. They shared a laugh as Esme finished and placed a bowl of spaghetti and a fork in front of her. She dove in immediately, not having realized how hungry she was.

"Thanks," she murmured to Esme with a smile as she ate. Esme smiled brilliantly back at her.

"It's just nice to care for someone who _needs_ care, even if it's just a meal," Esme explained, even though Alayna could see it in her head. Alayna smiled widely.

"I always appreciate meals," she said. "Amy and I usually just heat up frozen stuff." Esme looked at her in horror.

"You stop by anytime you need a home cooked meal," Esme ordered firmly. Alayna beamed at the motherly figure.

"Thanks, Esme. You don't know how much that means to me." Alayna let another memory of how much Esme reminded the small girl of her own late mother float again through the Cullen matriarch's mind. Esme, looking like she might cry if she could, swept Alayna into a tight hug before bustling from the room, meeting Jasper in the doorway. She gripped her 'son' by the shoulders.

"You've got a good one," she told him. "Don't you dare mess this up, Jasper Whitlock." Jasper, looking completely confused, let Alayna mentally run the past few minutes by him before he beamed down at his mother figure.

"Don't worry, Esme," he said. "There's nothing that could take her from me, now." Alayna tilted her head with a smile and touched her fingers to her lips before extending them toward her love. He smiled and crossed the short distance to her, kissing the top of her head as she turned back to her meal.

"You've officially missed school," Jasper murmured to her as Emmett surrendered his chair to him in search of Rosalie. Alayna smiled warmly at him as he lowered himself to sit beside her. She finished her spaghetti and thoroughly washed her bowl and fork, rinsing, drying them, and putting them away so quickly that it almost made Jasper's head spin to watch her. She sat back beside him, whirling in the bar stool to face and to kiss his cheek, having warned his mind with hers that it was her plan. Both of them found it easier to deal with the situations if she mentally warned him that she was coming.

"I should get going home," she said reluctantly. "Amy will be worried sick." Jasper frowned.

"Didn't you write her a note?" Alayna nodded.

"She probably expected me home after school though. Do you want to come with me? You should formally meet her, don't you think?" Jasper nodded thoughtfully and Alayna fought hard to ignore his thoughts.

"Okay," he said. "Do you want to go now?"

"Sure, if you're ready."

The two ventured out to Alayna's car, Jasper insisting on driving this time, too. They pulled up the driveway and Alayna opened her own door, much to Jasper's chagrin.

"You're making it too hard for me to be a gentleman," he said for the second time that day. It reminded Alayna of the first time and she let the memory of the first time float through his brain. He scowled down at her.

"Must you do that at all the most inopportune times?" he growled in her ear. She simply snickered and kissed the underside of his jaw.

"But of course," she said cheekily, taking his hand and leading him up the front steps. Alayna pushed the front door open.

"Amy?" she called into the house.

"In the living room," she called out, her voice strained. Alayna frowned to Jasper, who shrugged and pushed the emotions he was feeling from the _two_ people in the other room toward her; fear and confusion from one and determination from the other. Alayna pushed her power out, but couldn't figure out who the other person was. Amy wasn't thinking about whoever it was, just wondering how Alayna's sleepover was with Alice.

_Bella?_ Alayna asked Jasper. He shook his head.

_Human, but male. _At Alayna's bewildered look, Jasper's eyes narrowed and he walked through the kitchen door before her, his arm crooked behind him so he could still hold her hand.

_To avoid danger,_ he apologized mentally. Alayna pressed a kiss to his back.

_I know,_ she told him with a smile. _I'm not angry. I'm actually a little nervous._ Jasper squeezed her hand.

_I know you are, I can feel it like a bullet to the chest. Don't be worried, though. I'm right here and whoever is in that room cannot harm me. He'll die before I let him touch you._ Alayna pressed another kiss to his back as they walked through the kitchen and into the living room.

_I love you,_ she floated through his mind as she let go of his hand and stood next to him.

_I love you, too._ When Alayna realized who was sitting beside her aunt, her mind glazed over completely.

"What are you doing here?" she growled. "I want nothing to do with you, just like you said you wanted nothing to do with me."


	14. A Bitter Reunion

**A/N: Firstly, I want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments. **

**to luneress: I seriously think I owe you half my reviews.. and for that- probably my first-born child. Not that you'd want it whenever it comes out (no, I'm not pregnant haha)...  
to w8ing4rain, Scorpio21, and Aviarianna O Lorien: Thank you, thank you, thank you for your descriptive reviews- it's always awesome to know what you guys think!!  
to everyone else who reviewed: Thank you so much! Reviews mean everything to me; they let me know you guys are interested.  
to everyone else who read: Thanks for stopping by and checking me out!! :]**

**Secondly, I'm getting the creative vibe for another one-shot haha.. This one is going to be from Rosalie's perspective- probably set in New Moon when she makes the mistake that sets the action into motion. So look for that within the month of March although it's still in the writing stage right now. It's going to be called "The Mistake".**

**Love you all- thanks for keeping me sane!!**

**xo Ana**

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Jasper grabbed Alayna's hand tightly in his, but couldn't find her mind when she laid eyes on her father for the first time in ten years. If it wasn't for her erratic breathing and the intense waves of fear she was putting out, he'd have thought she had gone comatose. When Ethan Johnson stood from the couch, Alayna snapped out of her reverie and took a step into Jasper, squeezing his hand once again. He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in and squeezed back reassuringly. She knew by his concentration that he was doing his best to keep the atmosphere calm.

"Who's this?" Ethan asked, trying to sound as fatherly as possible.

"Jasper Hale," Jasper forced out grimly, shaking Alayna's father's hand in his free one so tightly he thought he heard a bone crack. He fought not to smile as the man cradled his hand for a second after the handshake.

"My boyfriend," Alayna added, staring her father down. "Now tell me why you're here."

"I want you back, Lay." Alayna cringed at the use of the nickname and Jasper realized why she had asked Emmett not to call her that, although he wasn't sure why he'd never seen it in her mind before.

"Well I don't want to go with you," she said matter-of-factly. "I have a wonderful boyfriend who loves me, and his family loves me, and Amy loves me. I don't need you _pretending_ to love me for whatever reason you've concocted this time." Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"I would watch my tone if I were you, Alayna Elizabeth. I have the authority to take you away from here and make sure these people never see you again."

"How're you gonna do that when you relinquished your parental rights years ago and my mother's will explicitly stated that Amy take me? There's no legal way you can take me anywhere without being charged with kidnapping, and believe me- I will press charges." Ethan's tone changed completely; something Alayna had always hated about him. He could go from super sweet, fun Dad to angry, conniving Ethan in seconds and she never knew when it would happen.

"Lay, baby, please don't be like this." Alayna froze. Jasper pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her, blanketing her newly-found mind with thoughts of love from his own mind at the same time, trying to protect her from all angles. Alayna suddenly had an idea.

"It just makes me so sad when you didn't want me," she started. Jasper, catching her drift, pushed all the sadness he could at her, fighting the urge to wipe the tears that started down her cheeks. Ethan's face twisted in sadness too and he held his arms out to her. She ran to him for a hug and he embraced his daughter like he hadn't in years.

"I want you now, though," he said, his voice thick with emotion. Alayna shook her head, moving away from him to stand with Jasper again.

_I'm in,_ she mentally told Jasper. _I can hear him now without touching him._

_Excellent,_ Jasper hissed back with a mental grin. He tucked her back under his arm protectively and dropped a kiss atop her head.

"But my home is here now," she said. "Here with my guardian and my love and his family."

"Lay, it's just teenage love. It won't last." Jasper felt Alayna cloud with anger while sadness panged at himself, his fears having been put into words- that she'd get sick of him and move on while he would never stop loving her.

"How dare you?" she spit out. "You don't know me, you don't know Jasper, you don't know our relationship, so how could you tell me it's not going to last?" Ethan changed again within seconds.

"Alayna Elizabeth Johnson, you will come back with me to Chicago." A twisted smile crossed Alayna's face.

"In case you've forgotten," Alayna reminded him as she pulled Jasper from the room, "I haven't been Alayna Johnson since you left. I'm Alayna _Roberts_ now, and I will be until Jasper changes my last name." Jasper stooped to wrap his arms around her and whirl her around. Kissing her deeply, he set her back down and bent to keep his forehead pressed against hers.

"You want to marry me?" he breathed, his eyes alight and his smile breathtaking.

"Of course I do," she told him with a smile. "I love you and I want to be with you forever." He kissed her again and she laughed, smacking his arm gently at the lust he was unintentionally sending her.

"Now who's got bad timing?" she snorted as he led her out the front door.

"Amy, I'm taking her back to my house. Alice hadn't quite finished her sleepover with Alayna when I stole her away." Amy laughed from the spot she'd taken in the kitchen as they opened the front door to leave. Alayna was startled, not having seen her move from the living room.

"Just make sure she gets to school tomorrow!" Amy said, watching her niece go with happiness in her eyes. When the door was shut, Ethan turned on Amy.

"You're just going to let her go?" he roared. "You're going to let her go with that boy to God-knows-where to do God-knows-what?" Amy cocked her head at him.

"Actually," she said calmly. "I know where and they just told me what. Whether you want to trust Jasper or not, I have been friends with his father, Carlisle, for years. I know he's not going to let anything happen to her. He's also her doctor, for Christ's sake!" Ethan glared at her before slamming the door and getting in his own car.

With Jasper driving, Alayna was free to do what she wished in the car, which usually meant she just acted like she was driving- checking mirrors, watching out the windshield, etc. She looked out the side mirror one last time as they were turning off the driveway to the Cullen house when she realized a car was pulling in behind them.

"Jazz?"

"Hm?"

"Who's behind us?" Jasper checked the rearview window and immediately clutched the steering wheel.

"Your father," he said grimly. "I think we're going to need Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett for this one."

"Emmett?"

"He's our scare tactic," Jasper explained with a small smile. They parked in the spacious garage and closed the door after them, heading into the house to find the others waiting for them in the living room. Alice stood when they arrived.

"I saw," she said simply, hugging Alayna. The two girls immediately started a silent memory trade- Alayna telling Alice exactly what happened with her father and Alice showing her vision of Jasper and Alayna being followed. Alayna quickly caught everyone else up as well, letting everyone see what had happened at Amy's house not an hour ago.

"So what now?" Alayna asked. Jasper looked at her quickly before turning to Carlisle.

"I don't want him anywhere near her, Carlisle," he said, a dangerous undertone to his voice.

"I understand that, son, but he is her biological father."

"What does that mean?" Alayna questioned. "Can he take me away?" Carlisle bowed his head.

"I'm not sure," he said. "But if he's out there, we have to meet him." As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door. Alayna rushed to Jasper and he swept her up into his arms, holding her tightly.

"Don't go out there," she begged. "I don't want him to hurt you." Jasper couldn't help but chuckle.

"Alayna, he can't hurt me. Besides, who else will keep the situation under control?" She bit her lip as he lowered her to the floor, but nodded.

"Okay," she allowed. She stretched up and kissed the side of his jaw. "Just come back to me." He kissed her swiftly on the lips before walking to the door with Emmett and Carlisle, Edward having opted to stay in the house with the girls in case Ethan was a diversion. Also, he had pointed out, Alayna could push thoughts into the men's minds, so Edward's mind reading wasn't a necessity. Surprisingly, Alayna found the Edward wasn't angry at her for taking his usefulness from him. The three men took Ethan outside and the rest of the family watched from the window. Ethan's face contorted into an angry grimace, and his body shook like he wanted to start a fight. Emmett smoothly took a step toward him and one look at the size of Emmett had Ethan backing up. Alayna couldn't hear anything they were saying, but she did notice that they seemed to have a routine when it came to confrontations.

Jasper didn't speak, despite the fact that he was central in this issue. He simply stood, rigid, at Carlisle's side, keeping the air calm and the situation controlled. Carlisle was the mediator, hearing the opposing side since he had already heard Alayna's. He spoke calmly and with much wisdom, like she knew he did with even his own children. He had not gone into the conversation passing judgment, and that helped him in the current trial-esque meeting on the front lawn. Emmett, of course, was the brute force of the three. He was there to scare the opponent into not starting a fight. He was also there as a 'protector' to the other two in case something went wrong. Unable to stand it anymore, Alayna weaseled into Emmett's mind.

_What's going on?_ She saw Emmett go stiff for a second before realizing it was Alayna.

_He doesn't want to let go, but we can't figure out why. Can you see inside his mind? If you can't, can Edward?_

_Of course I can. Jasper helped me con him into hugging me earlier and now I'm golden._

_What've you got? _Emmett sounded too eager to simply be wondering, but Alayna searched her father's mind anyway. She found pictures of the three hooded figures, the hoods always drawn over their faces. Accompanying the three figures, she picked out three names. Caius, Marcus, Aro. _Aro._ Carlisle's 'friend' in Italy. The Volturi had found out about Alayna and her abilities.

_Oh God, _she breathed to Emmett. _Em, get back in here._

_What? Why?_

_He's working with those three I keep seeing in my dream._

_What?_

_Yeah. They're not the same three Alice keeps seeing though. He's never seen their faces, but they somehow know what I can do and they're looking for me._

_Who are they if they're not the ones Alice has seen?_

_They're with Carlisle's friend Aro._ Emmett went stick straight.

_Alayna, _he said slowly, _are you sure? You have to be sure._

_I picked Aro's name out of his head, Emmett. How could I not be sure?_

_We have to be way more civil if he's with the Volturi,_ Emmett reminded her. _Will you tell Jasper and Carlisle?_

_Of course. Love you, big brother, stay safe._ Alayna moved on to Carlisle's mind, simply working from left to right.

_Carlisle?_

_Alayna? Dear, what is it?_

_He' s with the Volturi._

_Are you sure?_

_As sure as I can be. I told Emmett and he wanted to make sure I told you and Jazz._

_Thank you, dear. Is there anything else?_

_Um.. love you? _Carlisle chuckled mentally.

_I love you too, my heart. Now please let Jasper know so he can adjust accordingly._

_Okey dokey, Smokey._

_Jazz?_

_Alayna? What's wrong? Are you okay?_

_I'm fine, Jazz, breathe. I just wanted to let you know that he's with the Volturi. _Jasper was quiet for a second.

_And that means you're fine? You have a pretty warped sense of security, do you know that? _Jasper sighed suddenly._ Are you sure?_

_Why does everyone keep asking me that?! Obviously I was in his mind and I saw Aro's name floating around- things he has to do for Aro, things Aro requested of him. I think that means he's with them, don't you?_

_Please don't get sarcastic with me right now, love, I'm trying to keep you safe._

_I'm sorry, it's just that I told Emmett and Carlisle and they both asked if I was sure, too._

_We just don't want to make any mistakes, Alayna. It's not that we don't trust you. _

_Okay._

_On a happier note, you're okay? Safe, content?_

_As content as I can be with you outside fighting with my apparently demonic father._ Jasper chuckled lightly.

_I'm going to be fine, darlin'. But you're going to have to let me concentrate before I mess this up._

_Oh. Right. Hurry in, though. I love you._

_I love you too, darlin'. Now stop worrying, I'll be with you in a second. _Alayna broke the conversation and turned from the window to tell the others and found Edward staring at her.

"What?"

"No matter how many times I see you do that, it never gets old," he told her with a smile. "It's nice to share the burden and have someone else to reiterate what I say." Alayna smiled.

"Well, I need you to reiterate what I just said. Is it true? Is my father with the Volturi?" Edward avoided her eyes and Alayna knew she had her answer.

"It's not like I even like the guy though, right?" She sounded more like she was trying to reason with herself than anything else. Her body began to shake as she remembered why her mother had taken her and run away from Ethan. "I mean, he's a bastard. He beat my mom, he beat me, he touched me, and he broke me. I deserve to be happy, right? I deserve to be free?" To Alayna's surprise, it was Rosalie who suddenly gripped her in a tight hug. As soon as the Rose's arms were around her, Alayna broke down and cried, wrapping her own arms around the blonde.

Just then, Emmett, Carlisle and Jasper burst back through the door. Jasper looked incredulously at the two girls embracing in the middle of the living room before realizing that one of those girls was Alayna.

"Alayna?" She pulled back from Rosalie to look at Jasper, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Oh, Jasper," she choked out as Jasper was suddenly a foot from her, carefully pulling her from Rosalie's arms and sitting down on the couch with her on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as tightly as she could, trying to stop crying.

"Why would he do that? Why would he go to them?" she asked with a quiet sob.

"I don't think he did." It was Emmett who spoke; surprising everyone in the room with his seriousness.

"You think they went to him?" Carlisle asked. Emmett nodded with a thoughtful look on his face. Alayna peered into his mind to see where his train of thought was headed.

"You think they have an Alice?" she asked him. Emmett nodded again.

"And I think they know about you," he added. Alayna bit her lip and looked up at Carlisle.

"I guess it's a good thing we didn't go to Italy," she told him.


	15. A Lifesaving Power

Alayna spent the rest of Monday surrounded by the Cullen family. Not that she minded being surrounded by Jasper, and Esme was kind enough to make sure she ate twice more that day, but it was almost unnerving to her the way Rosalie would hang around if Alayna was alone, not saying anything, until someone else came along. Rosalie wasn't rude to her in any way, and actually looked like she didn't mind spending time with Alayna. Through all the craziness, though, Alayna was determined not to say anything because of the pure kindness she saw in their minds- they were only looking out for her.

When she woke up on Tuesday, the entire family was sitting in the living room. She dressed in a spectacular outfit (courtesy of Alice, of course) and grabbed her school stuff, heading quickly down the stairs. It was a longer drive to the school from the Cullens' than from Amy's, and she didn't want to be late. When she got to the living room, she stopped at the somber looks she was getting.

"What?" Emmett, never the one to hold things from her, stood and walked to her, handing her a note.

"This was taped to the front door," Emmett said quietly as she took it from his hand.

_Dear Alayna,_

_I am sorry for the childhood you had; sorry I had no part in it. Your mother raised you wonderfully, though, and for that I'm not sorry. It pains me that you're turning your back on your own flesh and blood for people you barely know, though, because what do you really know about them? There are many things I'd like to explain to you if you will let me. If you really are intent on marrying that boy, I want you to know the things I have learned from a very reliable source. This information may shock you, and I'm sorry for that as well, but you must know the truth because they are obviously not telling it._

_Always,_

_Daddy_

Everyone looked worried when Alayna looked up from the letter, but she simply burst into laughter.

"Is he serious? What does he think I don't know? I thought we decided he knew what I could do?" The entire family looked relieved at her words.

"I think it's safe to say we shouldn't assume anything," Carlisle said gently.

"Yeah," Emmett snorted, "we all know what happens when you assume." With a sparkling smile at Emmett's joke, Alayna shifted her backpack off her shoulder and tucked the note inside.

"Do you think I should meet with him?" she asked. Jasper growled, stood, and left at a vampiric speed, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

"I can still hear you, you know!" she called up after him. "Stop calling me retarded, you overgrown mythical creature!" Jasper flew back down the stairs to stand only inches in front of her.

"Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger?" he demanded. Alayna immediately pinched her nose between her thumb and index finger.

"Do we have to do this now, Jasper? I'm going to be late for school."

"Yes," he growled. "We will do this now so we don't do it later." Alayna closed her eyes to gather her thoughts and couldn't resist peeking into his head. She gasped and her eyes flew open when she saw the reasons behind his anger.

"Are you mentally handicapped?" she asked, completely taken aback by his thoughts.

"Get out of my head, Alayna," he said, his voice dangerously low.

"No!" she yelled. "I want to know why you think I'm doing this to get away from you. If I didn't want to be with you, I would have walked away a long time ago, Jasper Whitlock. Do you hear me? I _love_ you, and I want to be with you _forever_, so stop thinking I'm going to leave you, stop using anger to cover your fear, stop thinking negatively and see this from my perspective! He's my father, Jasper, and no matter how much I hate him for what he's done to me, he helped to create me. Not to mention, I want to help take him down. You know what he's done to me, Jasper. You have to understand that because of that, I need to see him brought to his knees. Now, I love you, but I'm going to be late."

Jasper hung his head and dropped to his knees, hugging her around the middle as her fingers ran through his hair.

"It's going to be okay, Jazz," she promised. She moved away from him reluctantly after dropping a kiss atop his head, leaving through the garage to get in her car and leave for school. The drive was long, and although Alayna hated herself for it, she sped most of the way, praying not to run into any police officers. She made it to school in record time and rushed in to English.

Her day was sad and lonesome without the Cullens in it, but she knew once she made it to lunch, she'd have Bella. She finished her first four classes, not really comprehending anything that happened in them. She rushed to the cafeteria after Calculus and slid in next to Bella, squeezing around her shoulders and flashing a smile at her.

"How have you been?" Alayna asked. Bella looked worried and tired, like she hadn't slept last night.

"Okay," Bella lied.

"You're a horrible liar, Bella," Alayna noted with an arched eyebrow. "Talk to me."

"Where have you been?" she asked. "Where have _they_ been?" Alayna cocked her head.

"Who?"

"The Cullens!" Bella's voice had dropped to a quiet hiss as she spoke.

"They're fine. Promise. _He's_ fine. I promise that, too. And I have to tell you something amazing." Looking around to make sure no one was listening in, Alayna leaned in to Bella. "It was only for a second, but I put Emmett inside Rosalie's mind without being connected at all. I didn't even know I did it, but they said I did." Alayna left out the part about Edward being the one to tell her she had done it because she didn't know if Bella knew about his mind reading.

"Why aren't they here?" Bella asked, clearly stuck on the fact that they were missing.

"Sunlight," Alayna said simply. "Once he tells you all the stipulations, you'll understand. Until then, I can't tell you. I promised Carlisle, Jasper _and_ Edward that I would let him be the one to tell you." Bella bit her lip, but nodded. Jessica leaned over then.

"Are you guys going to the dance? We should all get dresses together! Angela and I are going after school." Bella looked at Alayna.

"Well, I'm not sure I'm going," Alayna said. "But I'll come to help you pick out something to wear." Jessica looked appeased at just that, so Bella nodded along.

"I'll come, too." The bell rang seconds after and they parted until gym class. History still held Alayna's attention, but she suddenly remembered what she had told Jasper on her first day.

"_I think you might find me tutoring you in here!"_ Alayna smacked herself on the forehead and rolled her eyes. How funny he must have found that line, considering his placement in the Civil War. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and held it under the desk where her teacher couldn't see. She started a new text message to Jasper.

**Alayna:**_ How stupid did you find me that first day in history?_ she sent. Barely five seconds later, she had a reply.

**Jasper:** _Not at all, why?_ She rolled her eyes.

**Alayna:** _Do you remember what I said to you?_

**Jasper:** _I remember everything you've ever said to me. It wasn't your fault you didn't know. I am sorry, though._

**Alayna: **_What for?_

**Jasper: **_Not squashing your dream of tutoring me in history the second it entered your brain. You just looked so cute. History; that's where you are now, yes?_ Matt turned just then and gave her an appreciative look.

"Hale's not here," he noted. Alayna raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

"What're you doing after school?"

"Shopping with friends. Not that I would go anywhere with you to begin with." Alayna turned back to her phone and replied to Jasper's text.

**Alayna: **_Yes. Stupid Matt is being.. well, stupid Matt. I think he just asked me out. Where are you when I need you, my big, strong boyfriend?_

**Jasper: **_At home- waiting in bed for you. Tell him I said he can't have you. _Alayna felt the lust lick at her despite the fact that Jasper couldn't have used his power to cause it. Was that really all it took?

**Alayna: **_Remember our talk about inappropriate places for that?_

**Jasper: **_Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Now as much as I hate to say it, stop texting and get to work! _Alayna rolled her eyes.

**Alayna: **_Really, Jazz? It's the Civil War. I know it like I was there._

**Jasper: **_Humor me, please. _Alayna tucked her phone back into her pocket for a split second before feeling it vibrate again. She pulled it back out.

**Jasper: **_Why didn't you tell me you have after-school plans? _Alayna frowned, bewildered, before it clicked: Alice.

**Alayna: **_You distracted me and I forgot. Sorry, love. I'm sure you know now, but I'm shopping with Angela, Jessica and Bella._

**Jasper: **_You would._ Alayna almost laughed out loud.

**Alayna: **_I would what- shop?_

**Jasper: **_No. You would take Bella out of the city with Edward driving me crazy, asking if it's you I've been texting and if you've talked to Bella._

**Alayna: **_Tell Edward that yes it's me, yes I've talked to Bella, we're going shopping in Port Angeles, and not to worry. Really, Jasper, she's a big girl. What does he think is going to happen to her?_

**Jasper: **_You forget that he's already had to rescue her from himself and Tyler Crowley's van, and he'd like me to let you know that Forks is much smaller than Port Angeles. He tells me to beg you to be careful._

**Alayna: **_I'm always careful, love. You know that. Now I'm going to try to pay attention, so do me a favor and shush? I love you and I miss you. I'll see you soon._

**Jasper: **_I love you, too. Come over after shopping, please. I miss you too much to bear being in the same town as you, both of us free, and not be with you._

Alayna didn't respond, but she knew she didn't have to. She dropped her phone in her purse instead of keeping it in her pocket. The bell rang shortly after, sending Alayna running for the gym. She changed quickly and met Bella on the court for badminton. After a relatively painless hour, Jessica and Angela followed Bella and Alayna home, parking in Bella's driveway. Alayna jogged over after parking in her own driveway and slid in the backseat next to Bella, who was already waiting.

Alayna found that the drive out to Port Angeles was rather boring. The four girls talked about school, boys, and Jessica pried mercilessly at Alayna to get her to talk about Jasper, but Alayna wanted no part of it. A few hours later, Angela and Jessica both found dresses and they were talking about seeing other stores.

"I'm going to find the bookstore," Bella said suddenly. Alayna looked at her and remembered what she promised Edward through the Cullen grapevine about making sure Bella was careful. She cringed inwardly before speaking up herself.

"I'll go with you," she offered. "There's a new book out that I've had my eye on." The two girls wandered down the street in search of the store Alayna had managed to pick from Jessica's mind.

"It doesn't look like the store Jess had in mind is going to work out for us," Alayna said, pointing at the new age store. Bella shook her head in distaste and they kept walking, looking for another bookstore nearby. Turning down a wrong alley, Bella and Alayna saw the three drunk men and stopped in their tracks, moving to turn around.

"Where are you two lovely ladies off to?" One of the drunken men was advancing toward them. They turned back to face the men, and despite her shorter stature, Alayna moved stealthily to stand in front of Bella.

"We're just meeting our boyfriends, but we seem to have gotten lost. We don't want any trouble, so we'll just turn around here." Alayna worked to keep her voice even and her phone was vibrating violently in her pocket.

_Oh God, Jasper must be pissed, _Alayna realized. _Alice must have seen this and told him. Doesn't that also mean he should be on his way?_ Alayna started to back-step in the direction they had come from, forcing Bella to walk backwards, too.

"Well don't go just yet," another of the men pouted, "the fun's just starting." They were too close for comfort, so Alayna turned and bolted, snagging Bella by the wrist and taking her along. The taller girl tripped, but Alayna never loosened her grip. Alayna practically screamed thoughts out, hoping to catch Jasper, Edward, or whoever else might be around. They turned down another street and Alayna almost cried in relief when she heard Edward's mind, despite the intense anger that was in it. Alayna practically dragged Bella toward the direction that the silver Volvo would be coming from any second.

Sure enough, as soon as Alayna pulled Bella forward, Edward flew around the corner and the passenger door opened quick as lightning.

"Get in." Edward's usually unshakable voice wavered in fury. Alayna practically shoved Bella into the front seat before wrenching the back door open to get in. Once their doors were shut, Edward immediately pulled away from the alley.

"Distract me, please," he requested. Alayna tuned out the rest of their conversation as Bella responded with a shaky quip about killing Tyler Crowley, preferring to look out the window and give them privacy.

"I have you to thank, Alayna," Edward told the small girl, turning all the way around in his seat to face her. She quirked an eyebrow at him as Bella tried to pull him back around to face the road. He let her correct his placement before turning his eyes quickly back to Alayna.

"You were projecting some serious help thoughts," he told her proudly. "I heard you loud and clear." Alayna beamed, glad her power was good for something. Her good mood was dashed with Edward's next sentence.

"However, the certain someone that's waiting for us is not too thrilled." Alayna winced noticeably.

"Jasper?" Edward nodded. "How pissed is he?" A smile twitched at Edward's lips for the first time since they'd gotten in the car.

"Very," he said, leaving it at that. Minutes later, he pulled up to the curb and the back door was nearly taken off of its hinges. Alayna was barely able to unbuckle her seatbelt before Jasper had her out of the car and crushed tightly in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him, too, happy to see him despite his desperate actions.

"I'm alright, love," she murmured in his ear. He growled at her and pulled back a little, Alayna's feet still quite a bit off the ground.

"If you think you're off the hook because I'm glad to see you alive, you've got another thing coming," he said menacingly. "You just wait until we get home." Seeing Jessica's jealous looks from her place on the sidewalk where she wasn't paying attention to anything Edward was saying for once, Alayna put her hands on either side of Jasper's face, knowing his arms alone would hold her up.

"I haven't seen you all day," she protested. "Don't I get a kiss?" She stuck out her lower lip a little in a cute pout before she wound her arms around his neck to hold herself up as he put his hands on her face and pulled her lips to his.

"I missed you too much to be angry right now," he whispered against her lips. She smiled and touched her nose to his before bringing their lips back together.

"I missed you too, love. Now what do you say we go get something to eat? I'm starving." Jasper smiled winningly at her comment and she nearly melted from happiness.

"Tell me you love me, first," he requested. "I haven't heard it in hours." Alayna rolled her eyes.

"Oh _hours_," she mocked, "whatever will you do?" Jasper's grin turned wicked as his eyes glinted up at her.

"I can make you," he promised, ghosting his lips across the base of her neck. Alayna, thoroughly breathless, just smiled.

"I love you," she whispered quietly. He set her on her feet, seeing that Edward and Bella had disappeared. They said quick goodbyes to Angela- who looked happy for her- and Jessica- who looked even more jealous than before. Alayna and Jasper got into Jasper's car and he drove them home at a speed really only used by the Cullen family. When they reached the Cullen home, Jasper wouldn't even let Alayna greet anyone. Instead, he gathered her in his arms and dashed up the stairs to his room.


	16. A Horrible Discovery with a Worse Ending

**A/N: I TOTALLY FORGOT TO PUT A NOTE AT THE BEGINNING OF LAST CHAPTER! How could I forget, you ask? Well I posted that one eight minutes before I had to be in class. I was in the cafeteria (about five minutes away) and still made it in plenty of time, but you should have seen me hurrying haha I looked dumb, I'm sure :]**

**Thanks toooooo:**

**CHAPTER 14-  
Aviarianna O Lorien **(I had to keep you entertained! Ethan was the perfect way to do that :])**  
bloomsky **(funny you should mention that- More More More is the name of a FANTASTIC fic I've been keeping up with- check it out, it's fab :] )**  
LoveLife24** (you shall see, my dear ;] I'm rather proud of myself for this one, really. I managed to make it possible and not kill 's plots haha )**  
w8ing4rain **(awkward is my middle name haha (its actually not haha) and I was dying to show Jasper's protective nature- I just thought that was too good to pass up haha :] )

**CHAPTER 15-  
billbeckettsgirl **(thank you, darling :] )**  
bloomsky **(More More More- you really should check the story out! haha It's the sequel of another story called "If Every Word I Said Could Make You Laugh". both are by carmelinagunn and are fantastic if you want to check them out! yes, I'm plugging people who probably aren't reading this. It's cool- they'll like the reviews as much as I do! haha :] )**  
w8ing4rain **(YOU'RE a Jasper-holic? how do you think I feel? haha I had to write a Jasper story because besides CarrotTop's, I couldn't find any I liked! haha)**  
Scorpio21 **(the reason I can update so quickly is because the entire story is already finished and all I have to do is post haha.. I would spread them out a little, but I think it might kill all you reviewers haha :] and about the three-cloak mixup, I wanted you to be uncertain! haha that makes it more fun for me when ya'll review and freak out :] I never actually say why Bella wasn't in the dream, I guess it's just because of her shield?  
**pinkshirt** (you know, I think you did mention! haha thanks :] I'm always afraid my ideas are terribly overdone, so I appreciate your reassurance even if you didn't know you were reassuring haha)

**My spring break is overrrr. 6 more LONG weeks of school until summer. How sad for me. But I'm back and posting chapters, so I'm sure you're all happy haha.. I seriously LOVE California, and I'm thinking about moving out there after I finish college.. I have two more years until I get my Bachelor's degree (which I always found funny, considering I'm a girl and would be a bachelorette haha) and then another two years to get my Master's.**

**Anywhoo, I'm sure you all don't care about my pathetic school life... Hey! Another plug- you should all check out my youtube channel! There's one I share with my two best friends. Kallie posts on Mondays, I post Wednesdays and Gail posts Fridays. The link is in my profile to that. Then I have a channel to myself and the link for that is up to.. I post a video there once a week... and if you want to follow me on Twitter, the link for that is there, too! :]**

**Wow, long note to make up for the lack of one in the last chapter haha.. Okay, okay- ON WITH IT.**

**xo Ana**

**(Usual Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize as 's. I own everything you don't recognize. Cool beans? Cool beans.)**

* * *

"I can't bear the thought of sharing you right now," Jasper said, his voice low with desperation. He stood at the foot of the bed, unable to meet her eyes. Alayna looked up at him from where he had set her in the middle of the bed. She sat up and crossed her legs underneath her, still looking at him.

"Come here," she said, holding her arms open for a hug. Jasper slowly ran his body up the length of hers, flipping them at the last second so that she was lying atop him like she had been the night before. She tangled her legs in his as best she could and stretched up to kiss his lips gently. He pulled her closer, deepening their kiss, and as soon as Alayna felt the lust Jasper was unintentionally sending out, she was doing all she could to get closer to him. Jasper pulled away from her and looked into her lust-filled eyes as she struggled to catch her breath.

"I need you," she whispered. Jasper shook his head painfully before Alayna reached her hands up to either side of his face.

_I could kill you, _his mind was screaming at hers.

"I don't believe that," she said against his lips before kissing them deeply. Jasper flipped them over again and pressed part of his weight into her, making her arch up into his touch and gasp quietly. Jasper froze, afraid he'd hurt her.

"Don't stop." Alayna's voice was ragged and her brain was fogged, but she wanted nothing more than what she was doing right then. Realizing she wasn't hurt, Jasper brought his lips to her body, pressing a sweet, open-mouthed kiss on her throat, moving back up her body.

"Are you hurt?" he asked against her lips.

"Mmm, no. Should I be?" She kissed him quickly before letting him speak again.

"I thought I'd hurt you," he confessed quietly. She tried to take the situation as seriously as he was.

"I'm really not worried," she told him truthfully. "I trust you, even if you don't trust yourself. It'll get easier, I think, when we know what to expect." Jasper just blinked at her.

"Are you suggesting we _practice_?" he asked incredulously. Alayna pulled his mouth back to hers with a laugh.

"Often," she said seductively. Always having the worst timing, Emmett burst through the door with a hand over his eyes.

"Are you decent?" he bellowed. Alayna looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Of course we are," she said, sitting up. Sitting from her earlier position had her seated on Jasper's chest, giggling because she moved up and down every time he breathed. "What do you need, Em?" Sighing, he flopped down onto their bed next to Jasper, lying on his back and grabbing Alayna's feet in one hand and tucking them into his chest.

"Alice says you have to go home and spend time with Amy," he said. Jasper growled slightly and Alayna simply set her hand on his chest where his heart would be, looking down at him with a smile. He laid his hand over hers and she reached down and kissed him quickly with a mental transfer to be nice.

"Did she say why?" Alayna asked, moving her hand from Jasper's to tie her long hair back in a ponytail. Jasper made a face that she couldn't see and tugged on the bundle of hair. She swatted his hand and he crossed his arms against his chest, pouting.

"No. She just said that you should plan on being there by yourself in about half an hour if you know what's good for you." Alayna nodded with a laugh and scooted off Jasper and off the bed. She picked up her backpack and looked expectantly at Jasper, who was lying with one arm on his stomach where she had just been sitting and one arm crooked behind his head, watching her.

"Come see me off?" she asked, as if she were going on a serious voyage instead of home to her aunt. He nodded and gracefully rose from the bed to follow her out of the room. They descended the stairs slowly, hand in hand, and before she knew it, Alayna was standing with her back to her Avenger, staring up at Jasper. She knew it was stupid, but she didn't want to leave him. Standing on tiptoes, she threw her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist, lifting her clear off the ground.

"You should go," he said reluctantly. He set her down and kissed her one last time before she got in the car and drove off. He watched her go until his vampire eyes could no longer see her. He then touched his left hand to his lips and held it out to her retreating car before heading back inside.

Alayna bobbed her head to the CD of soft, acoustic music Jasper had left in her car's CD player as she drove her car (the second love of her life) home and parked, jogging inside quickly after and trying to ignore the feeling that something was wrong. Calling for her aunt, Alayna found Amy in the living room, surrounded by blankets and watching a movie. Alayna curled up next to her and laid her head on her aunt's lap.

"You're home?" Amy asked, her voice groggy.

"Yeah," Alayna said. "I wanted to spend some time with you." Amy smiled and ran a hand through her niece's hair. She knew she should tell the girl about her growing sickness, but couldn't bear to worry her after everything her mother went through.

"Are you okay, Amy?" Alayna asked, her sharp eyes scouring Amy's deteriorating form. Amy smiled weakly but shook her head.

"I'm sick and getting sicker," she said quietly. "I didn't want to worry you." Alayna frowned, worried about her aunt and angry at her own self-involvement.

"You should have told me," Alayna whispered. "I would have spent more time here with you." Amy laughed hollowly.

"I don't want that," she told her niece. "I want you to spend time with your love the way I did." Alayna's frown deepened and tears filled her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Alayna asked, confusion weaved into her voice and frustration laced in her tears.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you and your mother," Amy apologized, much like she had when Alayna first moved in.

"I'm not worried about that right now," Alayna whispered. "I'm worried about you."

"I want you to know that I'm sorry," Amy insisted. "It's just that Brian wasn't going to have much longer either, and- oh, Alayna- I loved him so much. Which is why I want you to spend as much time as you can with your love: you never know what will happen to drag the two of you apart."

"I have forever to be with Jasper," Alayna whispered, her tears falling down her cheeks. "If you're sick like Mom, you only have so long." Amy smiled a forced, pained smile, and a thick silence filled the room.

"Can you take me to the hospital?" she asked of her niece. "I have to sign the official papers that say I'm stopping treatment." Alayna's tears fell more quickly as she nodded and she stood quickly, moving to the kitchen to grab her keys before returning to the living room to retrieve her aunt. She helped the taller woman to her car and they made the short drive to the hospital. They stopped at the front desk where Amy leaned heavily on it.

"We're here to see Dr. Cullen about some paperwork," she informed the same nurse that always seemed to be there. She just nodded, apparently recognizing Amy's condition and Alayna's red-rimmed eyes. Alayna led Amy to Carlisle's office and he bid her entrance barely before Amy could ask and definitely before she could knock. Amy looked at her niece suspiciously as she opened the door, but Alayna simply shot her aunt a tight-lipped smile and sat her in one of the chairs across from Carlisle's desk.

"I need to sign those papers, Carlisle." Amy's voice was firm, like she'd fought Carlisle on this decision all the way through.

"Amy," he started, suddenly looking much older than he appeared. "Please don't do this." Amy closed her eyes before opening them to look back at him.

"I also need you to make me some promises, Carlisle," she continued.

"Anything you need, my heart."

"I need you to adopt Alayna, and I need you to make sure she gets everything and her bastard father gets nothing from her ever. I need you to keep her safe when I can't. I'm not as oblivious as I appear, Carlisle. I know what you are, I know what she will be, and I know that when she receives everything from me, it will almost equal what you've been able to secure for yourself. I know what she can do as well. She's not as good at her power as she could be, and your boy Emmett isn't very good at speaking quietly. So please, my friend, do these things for me?" Alayna's tears were falling quickly and Carlisle looked as if he wanted to cry as well.

"You'll need a will, Amy," he started. "You'll need a lawyer to state specifically everything that you wish to happen. I have to tell you that if you stop treatment-"

"When."

"Pardon?"

"When I stop treatment, Carlisle. I've already decided." Carlisle swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Alright then. When you stop treatment, you will only have a week or two before the cancer cells completely take over." Amy nodded- this was not news to her. She signed where Carlisle indicated and let Alayna help her from the room.

"On to the lawyer's," Amy directed. Alayna said nothing, simply nodded at her aunt, tears still flowing, and drove where she was told to drive. She helped her aunt into the lawyer's office and waited in the lobby for Amy to finish her business. Her phone rang twice- one Jasper, one Alice- but she didn't pick up either call. When the door opened, Alayna was on her feet immediately. She rushed to her aunt and took her arm to help her back out to the car.

_It's my turn to take care of Amy,_ Alayna vowed. _I'm not going to let her down. I'm going to be here until the end._ She drove home and the two girls ate frozen dinners and watched movies. Alayna struggled a little, but was eventually able to carry her aunt to bed when she fell asleep on the couch. After making sure Amy was comfortable, Alayna went to her room and went about her normal night routine, fat tears still falling quickly from her eyes. She pretended all the while to ignore the sight of her love sitting in a chair by her window and simply went to bed. She wasn't sure if he knew she had seen him, as she kept her face smooth and let no indication of her knowledge show on her face. After her mother fell ill, she had become a master at hiding everything, and in that moment she wanted nothing more than to be alone. Alayna set her alarm and quickly fell asleep, her tears finally subsiding.

When Alayna woke the next morning, the first thing she realized was that Jasper was no longer sitting in the corner. The second was that there was a note on top of her alarm clock.

_My love,_ it read,

_I didn't want to disturb you, and I hope I didn't. I was here last night and while I thought maybe you saw me, I couldn't be sure. Alice was too edgy after some of her visions last night and I wanted to make sure you were okay, but you seemed just fine._

_I love you, and I'll see you at school,_

_Jasper_

Alayna folded the note and stuck in her bedside table's top drawer, getting out of bed and going about her morning rituals. She found herself emotionless and couldn't decide if that was good or bad. She dressed mechanically and headed downstairs to find Amy lying on the couch, unable to get up the strength to go to work. Amy was on the phone when Alayna came down the stairs, talking to her boss. Alayna peeked into her mind, remembering Amy saying she knew what Alayna could do, and found Amy telling her boss that she wouldn't be coming in anymore. Knowing what was happening, Alayna closed her eyes to will back her tears and grabbed her backpack and keys, kissing Amy on the cheek and heading out the door.

She stopped short of her car when she found Jasper leaning against it. She threw her backpack in the backseat with a vengeance before turning to him.

"Can I help you?" The lack of emotion in her eyes had Jasper stumbling back. Alayna got in the driver's side and drove away without a second glance back. Once at the school, she found Jasper waiting for her next to her usual parking spot, lounging against the side of Bella's already-present truck. Alayna got out of her car, grabbed her bag and locked the doors, heading for class without sparing a glance at Jasper.

"Alayna!" he shouted. She didn't turn.

"Alayna, please!" Still nothing. Confusion, fear, and heartache ripped at him and he dropped to his knees in the middle of the parking lot, wondering what had caused his beautiful love to look so empty.

Alayna went through the next week ignoring everyone except her aunt, picking at her food at mealtimes, never speaking and always looking void of emotion. One of the Cullen children stopped by her house every night before she went to bed and she didn't acknowledge any of them. She spent her afternoons watching TV or movies with Amy, carrying her to bed when she could no longer stay awake, and crying herself to sleep afterwards. Alice finally disclosed her visions, ensuring that each of the vampire teens knew what plagued Alayna's heart just as they knew she still cared about them. Edward was the only one able to reach inside her mind, as she would avoid touching them as well. In the beginning, she would train her brain to go through mechanical things- such as her Spanish verb tenses- to keep Edward out, but after a day or so, she became exhausted of even that.

Finally, on that Saturday night, when the two women were sitting, watching _The Best of Will Ferrell_ on DVD, Amy gripped Alayna's hand. Alayna's head whipped from the TV to look at her aunt, who smiled gently.

"I get to be with Brian," she explained as she took her last breath. Sobbing heavily, Alayna called Carlisle at the hospital and spoke for the first time since seeing Jasper outside her house four days before. Carlisle immediately called the coroner and the lawyer and drove to Alayna and Amy's house. After ringing the doorbell several times and even knocking a few times, he walked in to find Alayna sobbing over her aunt's cancer-ridden body. He was barely able to pull the girl away as she kicked and screamed to be let go, and he called Amy Roberts' official time of death just before the coroner took her away. The lawyer- forced to witness her death in order to activate her final wishes- stepped up to Alayna with a comforting hand on her shoulder. He held out a business card and Alayna took it with a questioning look in her eye.

"Whenever you're ready, we'll discuss Amy's wishes." With that, he left the house and Alayna collapsed. Carlisle tried to hold the small girl he had become so fond of, but she pushed him away and ran for her room, locking both the door and the window before sobbing herself to sleep.


	17. A Dangerous Situation

A/N: I told myself only ONE chapter a day, so since it's technically tomorrow (it's 1:30AM-ish here), I'm going to post again :)

BIG HUGS TO:  
**bloomsky** (I like how you added an extra 'more' in there! haha :) )  
**LoveLife24** (don't worry, you'll eventually see where I'm going with all of this... and everything ties together in the end. I've updated the ending (its already written) like 700 times just to make sure I've explained everything  
**Aviarianna O Lorien** (I'm getting really good at typing your name haha and yes!! I loooove throwing loops into my stories- I have to keep you interested! haha)  
**w8ing4rain** (haha! that's so funny because I happy danced when I wrote it... do you know what Snoopy-dancing is? I do that alot haha :D )  
**Scorpio21 **(can I just tell you how much I LOVE getting your reviews? seriously- I get the email for any review and I Snoopy-dance (I really hope someone besides me knows what that means haha), but when I read yours, my heart feels all full and bursty because I can tell you put alot of thought into your reviews.. I AM a tricky little sneak, aren't I?! haha but you've got me all figured out- soon YOU'll be keeping ME on my toes haha.. GOOD- I want you to hound me! there's so much going on with me right now that I'm afraid I'll forget to post one day! So if I forget, shoot me a message or something and be like "hey you! *poke* update!" and I'll be like "okay, okay! I'm going!" haha and I felt bad for not making Amy a more central character like I had originally planned because I stole the name from my cousin (LOVE YOU, AMY LYNN haha), so I had to give her those last moments. I felt like adding in her lover was a long-shot, but I had to find a way to excuse her not being there when Alayna's mom was dying. Alayna's name actually came from my ex's brother's daughter, by the way! (see if you can keep that straight! haha)

**So thank you, thank you, thank you alllllll for your lovely reviews- they really do mean SO much to me :)And just for you, here's the next chapter!**

**xo Ana  
**

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When Alayna woke up Sunday morning, she knew she would have a lot to deal with. She had been illegally allowed to stay in her aunt's house by herself last night, and she was sure she was going to emancipate herself rather than go through the stress of having the state put her elsewhere. Not to mention no matter how cold she had been to Jasper, she still loved him. Rolling out of bed, she listened to the message Bella left on her cell phone's answering machine about playing baseball with the Cullens but deleted it without calling her back. She called the lawyer instead and was able to set up an impromptu appointment for the reading of her aunt's will due to a cancellation he had.

As she had said, Amy left everything she had to Alayna and the girl spoke to the lawyer then about emancipation. He handed her the appropriate documents, which she filled out, and she was sent on her way. **(A/N: I know it's probably not that easy, but give the poor girl (and me!) a break haha) **She ended up planning her aunt's entire funeral for the day after. She called the producing company where Amy had worked for quite a surprising number of years and they sent Alayna their condolences. Alayna spent the day working on the arrangements for her aunt's body. Amy had picked out her plot when she knew she would be stopping treatment, and tried to make other arrangements as well, so Alayna was really only filling in the things her aunt had missed.

Calling Carlisle, Alayna explained what happened with the will and emancipation and shakily told him that the funeral was for the day after. Carlisle put Jasper on the phone as Alayna started to cry, and Jasper immediately went into protective mode.

"Are you okay? Do you need me to come down there?" Alayna shook her head.

"No," she sobbed. "Go play ball, I know how you love it." Jasper sighed.

"I love you more, though," he told her. "I'd rather be with you if you need me."

"I'll be fine," she promised. "But no matter what, know that I love you, and that I'm sorry for how cold I've been to you this week."

"I understand," Jasper soothed. "I may not like being away from you, but it's been rough for you and I don't blame you for needing some space." Alayna let out a shaky breath.

"I'm going to get some sleep," she said. "Go have fun." Jasper reluctantly hung up the phone, and instead of going right to bed as she told him she would, she went to her room and picked a book randomly off her shelf, lying in her bed to read it and several others until she eventually fell asleep with an uneasy feeling.

Hours later, Alayna was ripped from sleep by Emmett roughly shaking her. Gasping, she sat up, frowning and looking around wildly. She turned on the lamp on her bedside table and looked straight at Emmett, confused.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked.

"When we were playing, three nomads, three of _our_ kind came up to the field and the tracker ended up obsessing himself with Bella's scent. If Bella's been in your house at all, I need to get you out of here." Alayna's eyes narrowed considerably.

"If you think I'm going anywhere with my aunt's funeral tomorrow morning, you are seriously senile," she informed him. Laying back down, she grumbled out an, "I'm going back to bed."

"Alayna!" Emmett nearly ripped her from her bed. "I understand that you're grieving but I'm not going to let you die!"

"Emmett!" she snapped. "I'm not going anywhere tonight, end of _fucking_ discussion. Now I suggest you leave before I call Charlie." Narrowing his eyes at her, Emmett huffed and sat at her desk, turning on her laptop.

"Fine," he allowed. "Sleep. I'll be right here, if you don't mind." Rolling her eyes, Alayna turned the light back off and went to bed as Emmett clicked to play Solitaire.

Three hundred and seventy nine games later, Emmett was bored out of his mind. He jumped as Alayna's alarm clock went off and she violently whacked it to get it to shut up. She got up, grunting in acknowledgment to Emmett. She finished dressing in record time and smoothed her long, black dress down her legs as she headed for the stairs. Turning back around, she found Emmett beside her.

"I'm going to the funeral home," she told him. "You can either go with me or leave me alone- your choice." Fidgeting, Emmett sighed.

"As long as you're out of the house for a few hours, I can leave you alone," he said. She was sure he was going to do something to her house to try and rid it of Bella's scent, if that were at all possible. Alayna made the short drive to the funeral home and insanely wished Jasper were with her. Putting on her brave face, she stayed all day, greeting long-lost family members, Amy's co-workers and bosses, and long-time friends. Her face hurt from fake smiling so much and she was sure she couldn't cry any longer by the time the funeral procession made it to the grave site and her aunt's body was lowered into the ground. Making sure the vault was locked with her aunt inside, Alayna left then, driving home numbly. She parked and unlocked the front door, going straight to her room to change into a pair of wide leg jeans and a baggy hoodie she had stolen from Jasper the week before. She left her room and was immediately met with an unfamiliar and unwanted hand over her mouth.

"If you know what's good for you," the woman's voice purred, "you won't scream." Alayna swallowed hard but nodded. "Good," the woman praised before raising a cloth to Alayna's face and knocking her out completely.

When Alayna woke some hours later, her body hurt from being cramped up, she was sure this was the danger Emmett was talking about, and she realized she was in a house.

"What the fuck?" she grumbled as she sat up, one hand firmly pressed to her forehead. "Where the hell am I?"

"Phoenix," the same woman snapped, the happy purr gone from her voice. "You'd do well to shut your mouth until I ask you to open it."

"Why would I listen to you?" Alayna asked. "You kidnapped me to do God-knows-what to me, and now you want me to obey? Fuck you!" She was rewarded for her comment by a slap across the face. Alayna wheezed, spitting out blood from her split lip and fell from the chair she was sitting in, rewarding her with a kick to the ribs. She gasped, feeling something snap. Her feet were tied but not her hands, she realized, and her mouth was not taped shut. She managed to push herself into a sitting position and pressed her back against a wall. Suddenly, a man- the woman's mate by the thoughts in their minds- walked in, looking quite pleased with himself.

"You're going to help me," he informed Alayna. She quirked an eyebrow.

"I am?"

"You are."

"And why is that?"

"Because if you don't, your boyfriend and his family will die." Alayna felt a sharp pain in her heart at the idea of someone hurting her new family.

"I won't let you touch them," she spat out. He, too, gave Alayna a swift kick to the ribs and she curled her body into a ball as she fell over again, sure another couple ribs were broken.

"I'm going to lure the other human girl to me using you," he explained. "You are going to be like my bait, and it's going to-" He cut off at the sound of her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. "Who would that be?" he asked. Alayna shrugged.

"Dunno unless you let me answer it," she replied cheekily. Sighing impatiently, he waved a hand at her. She dug in her pocket for her phone and found it to be Jasper. Her eyes flickered to the man, then to the woman, then to her phone. "I don't want to answer it," she decided aloud, moving to stick it back in her pocket.

"No, no," the man disagreed.

"James!" the woman hissed.

"Now, Victoria," James soothed, "I have a plan. Answer it." She fumbled to open the flip phone just before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Alayna? Oh thank God. Where are you? Emmett went back to your house and you weren't there."

"I'm fine, Jazz," she said as James gave a hard poke to her aching ribs. She turned to look at him and he mouthed a single word to her as he held his knife to his own throat in gesture of what he'd do to her: Lie. "I'm just finishing up some things at the funeral home," she continued. "There was more that I hadn't anticipated."

"Alayna, your car is at your house. If you're in trouble, you can tell me," he said. "Or maybe you can't tell me."

"Or maybe you're delusional," she said gently. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," he accused. Alayna sighed heavily.

"Are you finished?" she asked, "I need to be somewhere."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jazz. Now leave me be." She shut the phone and closed her eyes, hoping Jasper knew her well enough to know something was seriously wrong.

"Put that thing on a ringer," James demanded before leaving the room. Victoria cut Alayna's legs free and let her stand before leaving the room as well, keeping the door open. Alayna rubbed her ankles where the rope had cut into them and stood gingerly. Thankful that neither of her legs were broken, she left the room and found herself in a strange house. She walked around a little, unnerved by the fact that she was always in sight of one of them.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Alayna announced, walking to the nearby half-bath. She sat inside the small room for a minute before flushing the toilet. She turned on the water full blast to drown out her next move.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and swiftly typed a text message to Jasper, "911. Don't respond. Kidnapped by redhead woman and blond man. In Phoenix. No matter what happens- know that I love you." She sent the message and turned off the water, "drying" her hands and opening the door to find Victoria standing directly on the other side.

"We need you," she said shortly, shoving Alayna into the living room. Alayna fell to her hands and knees and scrambled to stand. James was standing beside the phone, listening to something. Alayna was almost sick when she heard Bella's frantic voice over the answering machine. James picked up the handset and dialed the number Bella left, staring straight at Alayna.

"Hello, Bella," he purred, his voice low and seductive. "I'm in your lovely home, and I have your friend- Alayna is it? If you want to see her again, you'll do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" Bella must have answered affirmatively because James smiled.

"Good," he praised. I need you to be convincing, now, can you do that for me? Say "No Mom, don't come home… That's good, Bella… Now, do you think you can get away from your friends? ... No? That's too bad." Without warning, James shot his foot out and booted Alayna's left leg hard, successfully breaking the bone. White hot pain licked through her and she cried out as she fell back to the floor.

"Mother fucker!" she screamed. "What the fucking hell was that for?"

"Do you see, Bella? Do you see what will happen if you do not come?" It made Alayna sick to think she was being used like this.

"No, Bella!" she screamed as loud as her lungs would allow. "Don't come! Stay where you are!" She was awarded with another kick to the same leg and screamed again. James ended his conversation quickly, informing Bella to meet him at the dance studio. Alayna fervently hoped that Bella wouldn't come; that Edward or whoever she was with saw through her bad lies. James glanced over at her.

"Get up," he said coldly. "We're going for a walk." Alayna stood, biting back the pain that came from her leg being broken in two places, and limped forward, feeling the broken bones rub together. The two left quickly, leaving Victoria in Bella's house. They walked around the corner to the dance studio, tears streaming down Alayna's face at walking on her leg. She could almost feel the bone pushing against her skin and wondered how long it would be before it made its appearance. When they finally made it through the doors of the long-abandoned dance studio, James shoved Alayna, causing her to fall and slide across the shiny, wooden floor.

"Our guest should be here soon," he told her as she lay face down, her palms flat on the floor and her broken leg awkwardly twisted, trying to catch her breath. Alayna's phone rang again, "Womanizer" by Britney Spears blasting from the phone's tiny speaker.

"How incredibly inappropriate," Alayna mumbled as she struggled to pull the phone from the front pocket of her jeans. When she finally did, she saw Jasper's name and face on her caller ID.

"Hello?" she gasped. It was the first time she'd tried to speak normally since her ribs and leg had been broken.

"Alayna? What's wrong?" His voice was panicked, just as she had never again wanted to hear it.

"Nothing," she gritted out. "I had a bad dream and you woke me up. I also seem to have a slight pain in my leg." Jasper growled, seeming to know she couldn't speak normally, and knowing by her 'slight pain' that they'd been hurting her.

"Well," he said, trying to keep his voice sounding calmer than he was, "I called to tell you that we can't find Bella. We think she's coming to look for you, wherever you are. God, darlin, I'm freakin out over here. Where are you? I have to come get you. I can't stand knowing you're in danger and not be there. Can't you give me some clue as to where you are?" Jasper's southern accent was slipping through with his frustration and agony and Alayna bit her lip to keep from crying.

"Where are you?" she asked, pretending to ignore everything else he said. "And what do you mean you lost Bella?" James looked pleased that Bella had managed to escape.

"Alice and I are at the Phoenix airport meeting the rest of the family." Jasper dropped his voice so low Alayna had to concentrate to hear his words. "Where are you?"

"Tough to say," she said. "I don't know when I'll be able to see you next. I'm really tied up with some things right now." James looked pleased with her answer- probably because he couldn't hear the question. An idea suddenly popped into Alayna's head.

"Hey Jasper?" she said softly.

"Yes, love?"

"Will you take me dancing this weekend? I haven't been dancing in so long…" Jasper gasped in acknowledgment and Alayna knew the second she said it that she would pay for what she had just revealed. James flew across the room, a camera now in his hand.

"You'll soon regret that," the nomad ground out, twisting her arm. Alayna screamed as loud as she could, crying out against the pain that tempted to incapacitate her. She was genuinely scared of what would happen if she were knocked unconscious, so she did her best to stay awake. The red light was lit, indicating that he was recording everything.

"You're enjoying this aren't you, you sick son of a bitch?" she spat out, scooting away from him. "It's not enough that we're in a dance studio with mirrors, you have to videotape this shit, too." Her phone, still on the line with Jasper, slid along the floor too, having been flung behind her. She hoped that Jasper could hear what she was saying and know where she was. Or at least have Alice 'look' for her. James must have heard footsteps because he quickly looked up and disappeared, leaving Alayna on the floor, unable to move without pain.

Bella burst through the door and saw Alayna immediately. Alayna groaned as Bella speed-walked toward her.

"Go away," she moaned. "He's coming back, just go!"

"I'm not leaving you here," Bella insisted, trying to help the smaller girl sit up. Summoning strength she didn't know she had, Alayna pushed Bella out of the way just before James landed on her. Instead, he cracked another of Alayna's ribs, causing her to scream. Standing quickly, James attacked Bella, who was too shocked to move. He threw her across the room, where she hit a mirror and lay in a pile of smashed glass and blood.

"Bella," Alayna groaned, begging her friend to move. Bella struggled to get up as James landed swiftly at her feet.

"Humans don't escape me," he explained. "Except one. There was one girl who escaped me. Maybe you know of her. That stupid old man took her right from under me, carried her from the asylum and left her after he changed her." **(A/N: I'm sure he said more than that for Bella to figure out he was talking about Alice, but my friend borrowed Twilight, so I can't 'research' haha)**

"Alice," the two girls hissed together. James suddenly raised Bella's wrist to his nose and inhaled her scent deeply. Alayna dragged herself along the floor, hoping to stop him somehow before he killed her.

"Stop!" she screamed, not able to reach them as James bit into Bella's wrist. Edward swooped in from somewhere, although Alayna couldn't bring herself to care where. He tackled into James and it sounded like stone hitting stone. James was knocked away from Bella and Alayna used her good arm to drag herself the rest of the way over to her friend. She pulled off Jasper's hoodie and the T-shirt she had on underneath, leaving her in a tank top and wife-beater. She ripped a strip of the T-shirt off using her teeth and good arm and wrapped Bella's wrist tightly. She knew there was venom in the wound, but she didn't want the family to smell her blood so strongly. As Edward took care of James, Alayna tried to calm Bella, who was writhing in pain. The rest of the family arrived shortly after and Emmett and Alice took special care to burn every piece of James that existed while Edward and Carlisle took to Bella's side where Jasper was trying to peel Alayna away.

"I'm not leaving her like this," she protested as Jasper tried to pull her back. Jasper had been holding his breath so not to breathe the smell of blood in the air. He picked Alayna up despite her whimpers. Edward sucked all the venom out of Bella's body just as Jasper tried to set Alayna on her feet. Alayna collapsed from pain, unconscious and exhausted, at the same time Bella slipped into a blood-loss coma.


	18. A Worst Fear Realized

**A/N: Wow. We're really getting down to the end, here, Review Crew! This is chapter 18, and the epilogue is number 21! (I just wanted to let you know how many chapters we have to go. Usual disclaimer- I am a poor college student. Therefore, I own nothing. Except Alayna and a Snapple bottle full of laundry money.**

As always- notes to my beautiful reviewers:  
w8ing4rain- yesss! I was so hoping you knew what a Snoopy dance was :D I'm so happy I can provide the Jasper fix you need! If you're anything like me, you need it baaaad haha :)  
**Aviarianna O Lorien- **I strive to keep you happy, so I'm glad you liked the last installment! :)  
**bloomsky-** here you go!! :]  
**Mandya1313-** love YOU for reviewing! ..sorry, I'm a big creep sometimes haha

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When Alayna woke up in the hospital, she was unsurprised. She was, however, rather annoyed to find her right arm casted below her elbow, her left leg casted below her knee, and her entire torso wrapped tightly, preventing any movement below her neck. Once she was conscious enough to realize her surroundings, the pain set in and tears began coursing down her cheeks as she screamed out. Jasper's head shot up from its place on her bed next to their clasped hands. Gritting his teeth against her pain, he shot waves of calm at her unsuccessfully as he shouted for the nurse.

The woman who always seemed to be around when Alayna came in burst through the door with four syringes of morphine and pushed them through her IV as quickly as she possibly could. Alayna began to calm almost immediately and looked over at Jasper with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Hey," she said quietly as soon as she could speak, her voice hoarse and shaky. Jasper faked a tight smile and buried his face in her bed, holding tight to her good hand. He raised his head right after and placed kisses all up her bare arm, shooting shocks of electricity through her as he reached her neck, her cheek, and finally her lips. He pressed his lips to hers as delicately as possible while still showing her every feeling he had for her.

"I love you so much," he told her, his eyes looking tired but relieved. "I'm so glad you're okay." She smiled lazily, knowing she was already drifting off to sleep.

"How's Bella?" she asked. Jasper laughed and smoothed her hair, reveling in her ability to care about everyone else, even when drugged and hospitalized.

"Bella's doing just fine, love. Still resting, Carlisle says. That's also what you should be right now. He'd kill me if he knew I was keeping you up."

"Talk to me," she requested in a whisper. "I want your beautiful voice to be in my dreams." Jasper smiled and kissed her hand again, so glad his love was back.

"You had me scared," he told her shakily. "You were in such a state when we got there, and when I saw what he had done to you…" Jasper's voice trailed off as he lowered his head back down to rest on her bed again. She raised her hand with what little strength she had left and placed it on his unruly blonde curls, rubbing her thumb back and forth.

"You couldn't have known," she soothed. "Everything is fine now, love. I'm safe, you're safe, our family is safe, and James is gone." He took her hand in his again and raised his head to look straight in her eyes.

"I promised you that I'd never let anything happen to you. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I remember."

"I let you down."

"You didn't." Alayna was starting to drift into sleep with every second that passed.

"I love you so much," he told her again. She smiled lazily before closing her eyes and falling back asleep.

When Alayna awoke again, she found her father by her bed and Jasper still holding her hand, glaring straight at him. They were arguing quietly but heatedly. She twitched her hand and Jasper squeezed it a little. She let her thoughts run into his mind, glad he was there and wondering why her father decided to reappear. She opened her eyes when she found that Jasper was carefully thinking of everything except that and attempted to sit up. Jasper stood immediately and forced her back down.

"Lie still, love," he said soothingly. "They had to do surgery to repair your ribs and you don't want to pull a stitch." She nodded and looked at him lovingly.

"Go home," she said gently. Confusion shifted into his eyes as he sat back in his chair and she saw in his mind that he didn't understand her reasons. She raised her arm to trace the worry lines creased into his forehead.

"You look about a hundred years old," she said, making him smile at her jibe.

"I don't want to leave you," he said, his eyes betraying his real meaning: he didn't want to leave her with her father when they knew who he was linked to.

"I'll be fine, love," she insisted. "I want to talk to my father privately."

"Okay," he whispered in her ear, "but I'm not going home. I'll go down to Carlisle's office. I won't be able to hear you talk but if you scream, I'll know." Still confused, he kissed her forehead before glaring at her father and swiftly leaving the room. Alayna fidgeted a little, feeling a little pain beginning to set in again.

"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly after she was sure Jasper couldn't overhear. Ethan looked older.

"My daughter is in the hospital with multiple broken bones and you ask me why I'm here?"

"I've been in hospitals before," she reminded him. "You were never there for that." He cringed.

"But your mother was. Lay, don't you see that these people are dangerous now, baby? I'm so sorry they never told you what they were, but we can take them down together. I know these people who can help us." Alayna's face remained calm and stoic throughout Ethan's speech, but once he finished, she gave a cold laugh.

"Did you think me stupid enough to not figure it out?" she asked. "Did you think I would read their minds and not know what was really in them? It's in Rosalie's every woe, in Edward's every fear that this is the life Bella and I will choose as well. I know who they are and what they've become. That doesn't change anything for me. They are my family and I love them. They are here for me like you never have been and they are dearer to my heart than you or Aro could ever know." Ethan looked taken aback.

"You know Aro?"

"We've never met, but yes, I know of him. If his wish is to destroy my family, I will not put Jasper, myself, or our family anywhere near him." Ethan looked hopeless.

"One word and I could out them," he threatened. Alayna tilted her head a little.

"Who would believe you? As long as Carlisle is a doctor here and Bella and I- two obviously human girls- are around them, they'll call you crazy." He was trapped and he knew it.

"Are you happy?" he asked. Alayna smiled and picked at the hospital blanket spread across her small body.

"Yes," she said without hesitation. "Jasper makes me happier than anyone has ever and can ever make me. He's truly my soul's other half and as long as I have him, I don't need anyone else." Ethan swallowed hard.

"I guess Aro will have to accept that. I won't jeopardize your happiness." Alayna smiled truly, happily.

"Thank you," she said. He stood, kissed her hand and left. Mere minutes later, Jasper was back, knocking on the door.

"I saw him leave and thought this might be a good time," he said wearily. "What happened?" She smiled and beckoned him over.

"Nothing of consequence. Everything is fine, love." He sat by her bed and picked her hand back up. She let him scan her mind for the conversation.

"How do you feel?" he asked. She smiled.

"In a little bit of pain," she admitted. "Where's the rest of the family?" Jasper pushed the nurse call button.

"Downstairs in Carlisle's office, waiting to see you."

"Will you send them up before I fall asleep? I want to see them so much." Jasper smiled, knowing he wouldn't be able to deny her anything.

"Of course I will, love," he told her, swiftly leaving as the nurse came in with more morphine and returning with their family (minus Edward, who was still with Bella) as she left. As soon as he entered the room, Carlisle immediately moved to stand at the foot of her bed, holding a clipboard she assumed was her chart.

"What's the verdict, Doc?" she asked with a teasing smile. Carlisle's smile wasn't as carefree.

"You never cease to amaze me, my heart," he told her seriously. "The things you have done for our family astonish me." Alayna's tease softened and she let her eyes flicker over each person in the room. Emmett, with his large stature and wide, scared eyes looked extremely out of character; Rosalie was trying hard not to look relieved that she was okay; Jasper was smiling at her lovingly; Esme looked about to burst into tears; and Carlisle, her father figure, was standing before her offering thanks for something she thought a natural reaction.

"You guys are all I have," Alayna said as her eyes filled with tears and began to droop. "I love you all, even if you may not love me sometimes." Jasper was at her side in an instant to hold her hand as she drifted back into a drug-induced slumber.


	19. A Long Distance Trip

**A/N: Ohhhh goodness, you guys. I played Wii with some friends last night and the night before, and my arm HURTS now haha... On another note- are you ready for me to horrify your minds?! haha ONLY TWO CHAPTERS AFTER THIS ONE! I cant believe it's almost over :( I haven't decided if I'll write a sequel or not. Probably not. I mean, I loved this story, but I have ideas for another one that I want to get down on paper first. I'll let you know, though, if I decide to continue with the loveliness that is Alayna and Jasper :)  
**

**Of course, I have to thank:  
w8ing4rain: **haha! isn't the Snoopy dance FUN? :) I'm glad you loved last chapter's happiness, because you wont get any here haha :/  
**bloomsky: **well I'm glad you love it!! :)  
**Aviarianna O Lorien: **I can't believe it's almost over either!! I mean, in my head the ending is done because it's been written already, but getting to share this with you guys has been aMAZing :)  
**Mandya1313:** I'm glad :)  
**KajiMori:** I'm not sure yet. Probably not, sadly. I don't think I've ever written a sequel haha.. I like to end my endings and move on. That seems rather harsh to do to Alayna and Jasper, though, so I don't know if I will.... I'm ALLLLLL over the place right now if you couldn't tell haha :/  
**the-one-good-puppy:** FREAKING CUTE USERNAME :) Ahem- sorry haha. thank you for saying it's awesome and thank you for being awesome and reviewing :)  
**LoveLife24:** thank you, thank you! :)

**Love you all, thanks for reading!! And sorry this didn't go up yesterday, I was having a whole bunch of technical difficulties so I finally just said "Screw it, I'll post tomorrow."  
xo Ana**

* * *

"Shh." A large, unwelcome hand clamped down over Alayna's mouth. It couldn't be anyone in her family, not with the warm temperature the hand held. Panic ripped through her at all the possibilities.

"I'm sorry," Ethan's voice sobbed as a man Alayna didn't recognize pulled her from her hospital bed. He pawed at her small, broken body as he dressed her in the clothes that sat beside her bed- the clothes she wore during James's attack. Her body ached as she tried weakly to fight back. The morphine was still coursing through her body as the man holding her and the large, obviously-vampiric man holding her father silently made their way down the hospital corridor and pushing open the door to the staircase just as Jasper stepped out of the elevator at the other end of Alayna's floor. He made his way to her room, panic seizing him when he couldn't find her.

The man held her almost painfully against him as he threw her into the trunk of a waiting car. He shut the lid and the others got in either side of the small sedan. After what Alayna thought to be a half an hour of driving, the trunk opened again and she found it to be night time and they were at the airport. Her father carried her in this time, with the vampire in front of them and the man nowhere to be found. They made their way to the front counter quickly, and Alayna was starting to nod off again.

"Three to Rome, please," the vampire purred at the attendant.

"Of course," she said, seeming to be uneasy about two large males escorting one small female. _Italy!_ Alarm bells went off in Alayna's head. They were taking her to the Volturi.

_Oh hell,_ Alayna told herself. _Isn't this just great?_ They boarded the plane and it quickly took off. Alayna fell asleep almost as soon as the plane was in the air and was roughly woken up upon landing. They didn't stop to let the humans sleep, eat, or anything else, simply moved continuously until they were travelling underground through freezing cold sewers. Alayna shivered constantly until they reached their destination- a dimly-lit reception area that was slightly warmer than the sewers. She wasn't paying attention to the specifics as a receptionist let them pass, and the vampire- who Alayna learned was named Demetri- led them into a large area surrounded in more vampires. It looked like they were all waiting on something. Or someone. Despite the situation, Alayna wasn't scared. She was, however, very determined to not let harm come to her family.

Knowing well from Carlisle's mind what Aro was capable of, Alayna forced herself to be more alert. Forcing her weary father to put her down, she stood on her own, putting most of her weight on her good leg.

"Well, I'm here!" Alayna said sarcastically. "What now?" Aro chuckled unexpectedly, and Alayna raised her chin to him to signify her search through his mind.

"Why?" she asked, her clear voice ringing through the large room.

"Beg pardon?" Aro asked, his papery forehead wrinkling greatly as he raised his eyebrows.

"Why bring me here if you do what I do?"

"Can you not see it within my mind?"

"I can see everything," she informed him. "I know how skewed your judgment can sometimes be. I want to know why you have taken me from my family and brought me to Italy simply to meet me. Could you not wait until after my marriage to Jasper? Or until after my transformation?" Aro looked even more surprised if at all possible.

"So it is true you are to marry the newborn trainer? It is against our rules for us to reveal ourselves to humans, my dear." Alayna's face took on a bored expression similar to that of one of the brothers at Aro's either side.

"If you've come here to kill me, you might as well just do it," she said defiantly. The end of her sentence was broken off by hungry hissing from the vampires lining the walls.

"I had you picked up to offer you a life here," he explained. "You can do what I cannot, and together we can achieve much power."

"And if I don't help you?" Aro beckoned and a tall female brought Jasper from a room off the side of the main room, an angry scowl on both of their faces. Alayna could see that he wasn't struggling and she fell to her knees. They had Jasper? What more did she have to live for if her love were captured.

"I'm not with them if that's what you're thinking." His voice sounded cruel to her ears, so frosted and angry.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to say you should accept their offer. I'm with Alice now, Alayna. The family doesn't want you back. Stay here." A sob broke through her and she watched his face and his mind for any sign he was being held against his will and couldn't find anything.

"Jasper," she pleaded.

"Give it up, Alayna." He hissed sharply.

"You told me you loved me," she whispered.

"I lied," he said cruelly before leaving the room with the tall female. Hardening her heart as she always tended to do, Alayna stood, ignoring the pain in her leg.

"Okay," she said in a small voice. "What do I do first?" Cheers erupted around her as she buried her face in her hands once more.

"We have to change you," Aro told her. "You will be like a daughter to me, my dear, once you have changed." He waved his hand and a tall, handsome, solemn looking man looking around his mid-twenties was immediately before her. Surprisingly, she didn't find his nature overwhelming or negative in any sense. She smiled up at him, trying not to gasp at the red color of his eyes.

"My name," he told her in his deep voice, "is Sebastien. If you should need anything, simply let me know."

"Will you be the one to change me?" she asked. He nodded his head.

"When you are ready, and only when you are ready," he told her sincerely. She nodded and looked up at him.

"I'm ready now," she said. He smiled at her kindly, reminding her of an old friend, and sunk his teeth in her throat.

Alayna writhed in pain for three days with Sebastien by her side.

***************

Jasper ailed, lying in Alayna's hospital bed for days and trying to think of who could have taken her.

***************

Alayna woke on the third day to find everything much clearer. She sat up from the bed and Sebastien stood, placing his book on his chair.

"How do you feel?" he asked her anxiously.

"Wonderful," Alayna said with a grin. Sebastien let his breath out in a woosh and smiled back.

"I'm so glad," he said, sitting back down and placing his book back on his lap. He simply watched her with his crimson eyes, as if waiting for something. Almost suddenly, her throat was on fire.

"Thirsty!" she gasped. He grinned at her again.

"Your first hunt," he said eagerly.

****************

Jasper was sitting on the couch, head in hands, when Alice gasped and flew into the living room. She tugged on Jasper's sleeve and he looked up at her.

"Italy," she said before flying up the stairs to grab their passports. Rosalie ran into her in the hallway.

"Alice? What's going on?" Alice whirled to face her 'sister'.

"Alayna is in Italy and we're going to get her." Rosalie cocked her head.

"You look scared," Rose commented.

"Do I? I don't feel scared. I feel fine. We need to get going."

"I'm coming with you," Rosalie said cautiously, dashing to her room to grab her passport and meeting Jasper and Alice in the living room. Alice quickly penned a note to the rest of the family and left it on the coffee table before they flew out the door and headed for the airport.

***********************

"Catch me if you can, 'Bas!" Alayna called with a hollow laugh. She lithely leapt into a tree and sat on the lowest branch, leaving Sebastien standing below her with his hands on his hips.

"Alayna, love, you have to be in council in ten minutes. You can't afford to be late again!" Alayna rolled her eyes and launched off the branch, landing quietly on the ground beside her friend.

"Oh fine," she said, heading off through the woods and back to Volterra.

Even though she knew the others didn't understand, she couldn't drink from humans. She hadn't even tried, really. She stuck to animals instead, and Aro let her roam the nearby wooded areas as long as Sebastien went with her to prevent trouble with an ability he never spoke of. Sebastien was, for all intents and purposes, Alayna's Emmett, Esme, and Jasper rolled into one. She knew he loved her but she couldn't imagine loving anyone other than Jasper. She also knew that Aro intended for them to be mates by all the thoughts she saw in his head, and she couldn't blame them for trying.

They were worried, she knew. They were worried that because she never left her house without Sebastien, Aro, Jane or Alec- she had become very close to the twins- never hunted without Sebastien, never spoke to anyone besides those four, it meant she was losing her sanity. Her powers had grown considerably and now included manipulation. She could not only place thoughts into people's heads and make them believe the idea was their own, she could confuse them and order them around by simply rearranging their plans and thought processes. She was dangerous, Aro knew, and could never be allowed to leave.

**********************

Jasper bounced his knee in a fashion uncharacteristic of vampires during the entire flight and it was beginning to drive Rosalie crazy. She also knew that there was something Alice wasn't telling either of them about Alayna's current situation. With the tiny whimpers and sighs of frustration the girl was making, Rosalie could tell Alice was having some issues with people's indecision. Irritated, Rosalie shot a hand out and clamped it over his knee.

"Jasper," she told her 'twin', "I'm worried too, but if you don't stop bouncing, I'm going to kill you." Jasper, all the worry showing in his face, turned to Rosalie and fidgeted a little. She gasped at a new emotion - overwhelming fear - and then gritted her teeth against it.

"You're projecting," she said through her teeth. Jasper swallowed and reined his haywire emotions back in.

"I'm just antsy to land," he said unnecessarily. "And Alice's emotions are scaring me." Rosalie nodded.

"I'm antsy too, but as long as we have Alice, they'll let us pass."

The plane skidded to a halt and the three siblings quickly exited the plane and left the airport. Uncaring, they hopped into a nearby car idling with no one in it and sped off. They reached their destination in an alarmingly small amount of time- thanks in large part to Alice's driving. Leaving the car in the middle of an empty street, they made their way through the sewers quickly. Hearing the tinkling laughter of a vampire female, they stopped in their tracks and watched a tall man walk from around the corner and hold his hand out. A small, graceful, _familiar_ vampire woman leapt forward to take his hand.

"Alayna?" Jasper's voice was ripped with fear, confusion, and heartache. The woman whipped her head to stare at them.

"Why are you here?" she demanded as soon as she realized who it was. "Have you come to rub your happiness in my face once again?" Rosalie was taken aback. What was wrong with her? Alice stepped forward with no confusion at all.

"They tricked you, Alayna," she said gently. "They used your father to get to you because of how powerful they knew you could become. They used a shape shifter to convince you that Jasper betrayed you and came to me. I promise you- Alayna, my sister- that nothing happened. He loves you, not me, my friend. Please believe me." Alayna's face twisted.

"You think I will believe you? Why should I? I can see into their minds, Alice. I know what is inside them." Alice sighed in frustration.

"That's what I've been working on. Trying to see who did it, how it was done, and what happened. I'm sorry I can't offer you more information, but I hope you believe me." Jasper, who hadn't been able to form a word since he spoke her name, moved forward. Alayna moved back at the same time, never allowing him to come closer. He kept moving, as did she, until she was against the sewer wall and he was still advancing toward her. Anxiety began to take over her body because she knew what he wanted and she knew that the second his lips touched hers she would be lost to him again and she needed to know the truth first.

"Stop!" she cried as he was about half a foot from her. She squeezed her eyes shut and continued to press her body further into the wall. "I need more time," she said, never opening her eyes.

"Open your eyes, my love," Jasper requested. She shook her head from side to side violently. Once she stopped moving, he caressed the sides of her face with his fingertips as she trembled before him. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked deep into his.

"Your eyes," Jasper said, shocked. Alayna, on the other hand, did not look shocked.

"Yes, I know," she said wryly. "You expected them to be red. I did take some morals away from my time with Carlisle, make no mistake."

"Who changed you?" he asked.

"'Bas," she mumbled, searching his mind with hers. Jasper's head shot to look at the man she was with, but she paid him no attention, focusing instead on the things she saw in his mind. How he searched for her, how he loved her… She was scared to believe him, but more scared to live her eternity without him. The only reason for accepting this life was the hope of finding Jasper once again.

"What is he to you?" Jasper whispered, his voice threatening to break. Alayna forced her mind out of Jasper's and back to their conversation.

"Friend," she said, her sad eyes staring into his. "There was never anyone but you." Relief filled them both as it came, his intense emotion unable to be controlled. He was getting too close and Alayna's mind was clouding over too quickly. Not ready to give herself over, she used her manipulation to make him think he wanted to walk back to Alice and Rosalie. Blind and unblinking, he moved backwards back to his sisters.

"I told you I need more time," she snapped, leaving him there and stalking off. Sebastien stayed behind, watching the rescue party carefully with his arms folded across his chest.

"You won't take her from me," he said, his voice flat. Jasper's temper flared dangerously.

"She's not yours to have," he hissed. "Before your people tricked her, she agreed to marry me." Sebastien's stony face dropped.

"She.. she did?" Rosalie rolled her eyes at the pathetic vampire in front of her.

"Oh please," Rose sneered. "Did you really think she would stay with you once she realized her _family_ was looking for her? That you _lied_ to her?" Sebastien dropped his head into hands.

"She was for me," he whispered.

"What?" Jasper growled.

"Aro promised she would be my mate if I only didn't tell her of their deception. Aro has trained many people, myself included, to be very skilled at hiding things from her without appearing to be, and those who couldn't master it weren't allowed near her." Jasper jammed his hand through his hair, tugging roughly on the blonde strands.

Suddenly unable to hold himself back, he stalked off in the direction Alayna had disappeared in, picking his pace up to a slight jog.

"She can't be your mate," Alice informed him, "because she's Jasper's." Little Alice followed Jasper after saying her piece, leaving Sebastien with Rose. Rosalie gave him a seductive smile before stepping up to him, standing about half a foot away.

"If you come near my sister again," she said sweetly, "I'll make sure you die very slowly and even more painfully." Sebastien's eyes widened as she sauntered away to follow her siblings. He kept a safe distance, but followed behind Rosalie as she caught up to her siblings.

Rosalie pushed open the doors to the large conference room and walked though with her head held high. The male vampires in the room appraised her with their leering stares as she strode forward to stand a few feet from where Alayna sat- in a high chair between Aro and Marcus. Her legs were curled beneath her and she stared straight ahead instead of at Rosalie. Rose wondered somewhere in the back of her mind where Jasper and Alice were, but they weren't her main concern; Alayna was.

Rosalie stood in the dead center of the room- precisely where Alayna stood when she first reached Volterra. She tilted her chin up to look at Alayna.

"Do you remember me?" Rosalie asked snidely. Alayna shifted.

"Rosalie, please don't be like this," Alayna asked, her golden eyes looking more tired than a vampire should feel.

"Do you?" The blonde's voice raised as she repeated her question. "You were my husband's best friend. Did you know that? You mean more to him than Edward, more than Alice, hell- you almost mean as much to him as I mean to him! Do you remember Emmett? What about Jasper? The _love_ of your life? And Alice- your best friend, your sister? Alice, Jasper and I flew all the way here because we thought you'd been taken only to find you- what? Drinking tea with Aro and _fucking Sebastien_?" Rosalie knew it was uncalled for, but she couldn't control her anger. The three ancient vampires shared their outrage mentally until Alayna held up her hands to them; mentally communicating back. She then pulled her legs from underneath her and stood up, gracefully walking down the stairs and toward Rosalie. Rose knew she should be afraid, but she couldn't bring herself to feel anything besides anger at Alayna's misunderstanding.

"I've never loved anyone but Jasper, Rosalie," Alayna said softly when she was about a foot from the girl.

"Then look into my mind and see that for him, there's never been anyone but you." Rose held her hand out.

"You know I don't need to touch you," Alayna said in a bored voice. "I've been monitoring you since you walked in the door."

"Then look," Rosalie growled.

"No." Alayna said simply. The smaller girl turned her head to the side, shoving a thought in Rosalie's mind: _Do you think I didn't see into Jasper's mind back into the sewer? That I am here because I want to be? That I don't still love him? That Emmett means nothing to me as well? He kept me sane through the days when Jasper ignored me and I can never thank him enough for that. I would be on the first plane back if I could be._ _I can't be sure you're not all lying to me too, but this is the last place I'd ever want to be. I. Am. Trapped. _She looked back to Rosalie with haunted eyes, and Rose suddenly understood. She conveyed her message to Alayna that she was about to put on a show before stepping back in fake disgust.

"I can't believe you," Rosalie said, her voice shaking a bit. "I can't believe I ever thought you were good for him." Rosalie strode toward the side door.

"I want to get my brother and my sister and I want to leave now," she told the guard. Shooting a glance at Aro, who nodded, the guard opened the door and led her down a narrow hallway. She tried to pay attention to the clicking sound her heels made on the floor instead of the horrid smell in the corridor. He opened the last door on the right and Rosalie rushed in, uncharacteristically holding them both close to her.

"What happened to you?" Jasper demanded. "Did you see Alayna? Did she talk to you?"

"Not now," Rosalie pleaded. "We have to leave." Jasper stared at her incredulously.

"You want me to leave her here? I don't care if she doesn't trust me, doesn't love me or what, but I will not leave her here with them. They won't let us leave in the daylight anyway." Alice, having been oddly quiet, suddenly gasped and stiffened. She was rigid for almost five full minutes before she finally relaxed.

"What did you see?" Jasper asked urgently. Alice blinked a few times to clear her mind before cocking an eyebrow and looking up at Rosalie with a big mischievous grin.

"I knew there was a good reason you came along."


	20. A Chapter with Answers

**A/N: WOW. Over 50 reviews?! That's way more than I had ever hoped for. You guys are all truly amazing, and I hope this fictional journey has meant as much to you as it has to me, and after this chapter, there's only one more! I'm so sad that it's coming to an end, you guys! :(**

**As always, thanks to:**

**the-one-good-puppy:** haha thank you! And I HAD to make Rosalie good in this story- everyone else gives her a bad rep and doesn't explain to the character why she's so angry. Plus, her and Jasper are my faves haha  
**w8ing4rain:** Well darling, I had to keep you on your toes, didn't I? Maybe I will do a sequel, but I hadn't planned on it. I don't know how I'd do it- does Alayna go with Jasper in New Moon or does he leave her behind so she can go through her senior year? Does she request to stay in her aunt's house and watch over Bella? So many questions that I just don't know the answer to! haha  
**bloomsky:** Here's more! haha :)  
**Mandya1313: **Thanks! It's always nice to know people like what I write haha :)

**And without further ado, here's chapter 20 :)**

**xo Ana  
**

* * *

The guards of Volterra let the three 'siblings' stay until dark, provided they left of their own accord once it was dark enough that they would be unnoticed. Unfortunately, they were watched while in that room at the end of the corridor, so Jasper was at a disadvantage and forced to simply trust Alice and Rosalie. He was a little on edge about it but Rosalie seemed to have a plan, Alice seemed convinced it would work and although he was completely lost, Jasper had always known better than to bet against Alice. Once the sun set, there was a sharp knock on the door. Alice and Rosalie exchanged glances in which Alice nodded encouragingly to Rosalie. Rose moved swiftly to the door and opened it, leaning against it.

"Can I help you?" She purred. Jasper looked at Alice in alarm. What was Rosalie doing? Alice shook her head with her eyes screwed shut which Jasper took to mean it wasn't the time or place for her to explain.

_Trust me_, Alice mouthed as Rosalie flirted shamelessly with the guard. Running her index finger down the man's chest, she jerked her head for Alice and Jasper to follow her. Alice winked at him as she passed, but Jasper couldn't even bring himself to even look at the man. The three walked the narrow hallway again, Rosalie flinging the doors to the gathering hall back open in true Rosalie fashion. Much to her dismay, it was completely empty.

"Most people have retired to their rooms or are with friends," Alice explained in a low voice as she led them across the room to exit through the doors straight across from where they entered. Neither 'Hale' asked how she knew where to go; they simply followed her without question. They stopped at a forked hall, Alice reverting into her vision to decide where to go. A minute later she came back and lead them to the left. Jasper could hear her counting under her breath until they reached the tenth door on the right side of the hallway. Alice didn't bother knocking, choosing instead to quietly shift the door open and slip inside, silently ordering Rosalie and Jasper to follow.

Once they reached the room's opening, Jasper wondered where they were and why they were there. He simply watched Alice with a confused expression as she rounded the corner to another room and came back with Alayna. She was running her hand across the hem of her shirt nervously and her eyes were darting around. Her other hand never left Alice's, but when Alice went to pull her forward, Alayna held back. Alice turned to face her and Alayna let down the wall she had learned to erect in order to keep her mind to herself and not hear others' thoughts. She tilted her head up with pleading eyes, obviously telling Alice something.

_I need to see your memory, _Alayna requested. _I need to know it's not real._ Alice ran a finger down the side of Alayna's face- something Alice was sure Jasper desperately wished he could do since he hadn't been able to be near her and feel her happiness in so long- and let her mind run over the weeks in which Jasper couldn't find Alayna.

"_I'm a Goddamn mess, Carlisle!" Jasper shouted at his mentor. "I can't hunt, can't breathe, can't LIVE without her! I have to find her!" Jasper sunk to his knees, his head clutched in his hands. Carlisle knelt beside his 'son' and wrapped his arms around the young man. Jasper leant on Carlisle, dry sobbing onto his shoulder._

"_I can't believe I failed her," Jasper whispered brokenly. Carlisle shook his head, his golden eyes trained on the wall. _

"_We will find her," Carlisle said. "It may take a while, but we will."_

"_Someone's got her, Carlisle," Jasper insisted. "I just know it. She wouldn't have left on her own. My love… She's so broken, Carlisle. What if they've killed her?" Carlisle turned his sharp eyes from the wall to Jasper._

"_You tell me, son," he said. "Is she dead?" Jasper shook his head. _

"_Something is definitely wrong," Jasper said confidently, "but I know she's not dead."_

Alice pulled Alayna from the memory with a tug on her hand. _We need to go,_ Alice said into Alayna's mind. Alayna nodded, shooting Rosalie a smile and looking longingly up at Jasper. She touched her fingertips to her lips and held them out to him just as she had in the Cullens' kitchen when she was eating her spaghetti.

_Just not here,_ she let float through his mind. Jasper's frozen heart soared at the thought that they'd have their moment. Rosalie, standing guard at the door, received Alayna into a hug with a seldom-seen, bright smile on her face before easing the door back open.

_I'm so sorry, _Alayna told the blonde. Rosalie closed her eyes painfully and shook her head. The four somehow made it out through the sewers without a problem. Alice hotwired a car to take them to the airport and they caught the first flight back to Seattle, driving Rose's car back from the airport.

Upon reaching the Cullen home, Jasper began to feel Alayna's apprehensions grow and her fear almost incapacitated him. Rosalie parked in the garage and they used that entrance into the house. Emmett, looking totally exhausted, could have cried when he saw them walk through the door. He charged forward and crushed Rosalie to his body.

"Don't do that to me again," he whispered, uncharacteristically serious. "God, Rosie, I was so scared. We didn't know where you went and.. God, what would I do without you? You're my everything." Rosalie hugged Emmett back just as fiercely.

"I love you," she said clearly. "I'm sorry if I scared you but Alice had a vision and she, along with Jasper and I, had to act quickly." Emmett grabbed her beautiful face in his hands and kissed her deeply before setting her on her feet. The others had simply been watching the exchange; the rest of the family having entered from various rooms in the house. Emmett crushed Alayna in his grasp next.

"You're changed," he mumbled over and over.

"I know," she said, not sure if she should soothe him or not. He set her down gently.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his seriousness seeming too out of place. Alayna nodded.

"I'm fine; a little psychologically worse for wear, but doing okay otherwise."

"Your eyes," Emmett said, touching just below his own. Alayna nodded.

"Carlisle's teachings appear to have stuck with me," Alayna said shyly. Jasper stepped forward after Esme, Carlisle, and Edward had a chance to hug Alayna tightly and tell her how glad they were that she was back.

"Can I take you to our room so we can talk?" he asked her quietly. Alayna's breath came sharp when he said 'our'.

"You still want me?" she asked, her voice shaking. Jasper simply stared at her.

"You think I would fly halfway around the world to find you if I didn't want you?" he growled, finally lifting her off the ground and into his arms. She held tightly, never wanting to let go, as he ran them up the stairs and to their room. He kicked the door shut once they were both inside and set her gently on the bed. He quickly lay beside her and trained his ecstatic eyes on hers.

"Tell me everything," he requested, his eyes beseeching her to tell him what her life had been like for the past few weeks.

"Well," she started, sitting up and picking at a piece of fuzz on the quilt lain over their bed, "First of all, I have to tell you how they knew about me." Jasper nodded and Alayna took a deep breath. "There was a woman. Her name was Carlotta, and her power was to have visions, and push visions into the minds of others, whether they're real or fake. She came to the Volturi looking for power and they were eager to give it to her. She worked for them for a few months, and managed to tell them about me and my potential. She placed that dream in my head to warn me because the further she got into their plan, the more she was forced to follow me with her visions. She didn't want to tear our family apart and she knew that her obedience would do just that." Jasper just stared at her in confusion.

"Where is Carlotta now?" he asked.

"I'm getting there," she said with a sad smile. "The last thing Carlotta did for them was tell them about my father. Demetri went to find him. Naturally, my father agreed to everything- they threatened his life and mine. Carlotta refused to help them anymore after that, and requested to leave. She said she would leave no matter what, she just wanted their compliance. Aro ordered her death immediately.

"After everything that happened with my father, he went to the Volturi to tell them I was happy and he didn't want to ruin my happiness and Aro shifted through his head to find out where I was. Then he sent Demetri and some man with Ethan to retrieve me. I think they knew that I wouldn't go unless they threatened someone, and they hoped you wouldn't know where I was going." Jasper made a sound deep in his throat and Alayna trailed a finger down his cheek.

"Please, let me continue," she requested. He nodded and grasped her hand tightly in his as she continued. "They took me to Volterra and I met Aro and his brothers. I told them I wouldn't follow them and I wouldn't let them hurt the family, so they brought you in and you told me you were with Alice now. You told me you didn't want me to come back; that the _family_ didn't want me to come back." Suddenly unable to hold her emotions, Alayna laid down and rolled over so she wasn't facing him, hoping she wasn't projecting her agony and helplessness. Jasper shuddered at the intensity of her emotions despite her attempts to bury them and pulled her back against his chest, molding their bodies together and burying his face in her hair.

"It was a shape shifter, darlin," he soothed. "How could you have known?" Alayna pulled from his grasp, only able to because she was still a newborn, and turned to face him.

"I should have had more faith," she protested. "I should have had more faith in you, in me, in _us_." Jasper reached out to stroke her cheek.

"You're alright now," he said, his deep voice full of unspoken emotion, "and that's all that matters." She nodded.

"Do you want me to continue?" she asked. Jasper nodded. "Okay," she said taking a deep breath, "Well 'Bas was the one to change me, but I think you already guessed that." Jasper nodded as she continued. "And basically I spent most of my eternal life with either 'Bas, Aro, or Jane and Alec." Jasper's eyes went wide at the mention of the twins.

"Tell me they didn't hurt you," he pleaded. Alayna's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Hurt me?" she echoed. "They were good friends to me, why would they hurt me?" Jasper sighed in relief.

"Do you know what they can do?" he asked. Alayna nodded, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm going to continue," she said slowly. Jasper just nodded. "Okay, so I spent my time with them. Aro had me on council with him and his brothers because I could feed the offender's thoughts into theirs with little to no effort involved. My powers have increased, Jazz. I can combine two or more minds with no problem. I can manipulate now too, which is the only reason you backed away from me in the sewer. I'm sorry I did it, but I told your mind to go back to Alice and Rosalie." Jasper's eyes grew wide when he realized what she was saying.

"I can't afford to believe they won't come after me. You don't know what Aro's mind looked like while I was there. He wants nothing more than to use me for eternity." Jasper shook his head, his eyes now painfully squeezed shut. His eyes popped open as he stroked her long, silky hair.

"We'll take that as it comes," he said, now running his fingers through her hair. Alayna closed her eyes against the amazing sensation and scooted further into Jasper. He received her happily, tucking her into his body and rolling to lie on his back with her half-atop him. She traced patterns into his chest with her fingertips, causing him to shudder.

**A/N: SMUT FROM HERE. You don't have to read it and it'll end the chapter, so you can stop here if you don't want to read it. Also, it's the first lemon I've written, so you'll have to let me know what you think. :/  
**

Having realized for the first time that she wasn't breakable to him anymore, Alayna leaned up on her arms to place her lips over Jasper's. He responded by pulling her up toward him and deepening the kiss. Jasper let his tongue trace her lips and she opened her mouth into his kiss, stroking his tongue with hers. She unconsciously pushed her hips against his and he gasped into her mouth. Alayna's fingers tugged at the hem of Jasper's shirt, pulling it up and over his head before locking her mouth to his once again. Jasper, empowered by her daring move, slid his hands up her shirt to lie on her bare stomach.

"I missed you so much," he whispered. Her breath quickened as he lifted her shirt neatly off her head and unhooked her bra, pushing it off her shoulders. Jasper moved his mouth from Alayna's down her neck and to her breasts. His mouth teased her left nipple to a hard peak while his hand did the same to the other before switching; licking and sucking her right breast while his fingers aroused the other. Alayna's eyes nearly rolled back into her head at the pleasure she felt, but she knew she couldn't lose it now.

"Missed you too," she gasped as she moved from Jasper's grasp, ignoring his growl of protest. She flicked his belt open and unbuttoned his jeans, sliding them and his boxer briefs from his slim hips. Before she could pay his 'little soldier' the attention she wanted to pay him, Jasper pulled her back up to face him.

"Are you sure?" His breath was ragged and Alayna was pleased to realize it was she that had him panting. She nodded her head before sliding back down to take him in her mouth. Jasper hissed as her warm (well, warm to him), wet mouth encased his shaft, her tiny hands covering what her mouth couldn't fit. She began pumping her hands and her mouth in a slow, steady rhythm that was killing Jasper. His fingers tangled themselves in her hair as he helped her move, slowly increasing her pace so he didn't choke her. When he knew he was about to release, he pulled her back up to him and moved to unbutton her pants.

"Are you sure you're ready?" he asked again, his hand resting above the button to her pants. Alayna looked straight into his eyes.

"I'm sure," she said, her voice dripping with what she hoped was seduction. She bent her mouth to his ear. "Jasper, I want you." She whispered, letting her breath caress his neck. Growling, Jasper flipped them over so he hovered atop her. Supporting his weight with one arm, he unbuttoned her pants with a flick and she helped him shimmy them and her panties down her legs. Jasper sucked in a breath and suddenly Alayna was flooded with self-consciousness. What if he didn't find her attractive? What if she wasn't what he expected- wasn't what he wanted? Jasper, feeling her emotions, quickly covered her mouth with his in a searing kiss.

"You're gorgeous," he said in a husky voice. His hands trailed over her hips before one went behind her back and the other moved between her legs. Teasing her gently, Jasper listened to her breaths, moans, and sighs before sliding a finger inside her. Alayna gasped and arched her back at the amazing feel as he slowly pumped his finger in and out. Once she was sure the pleasure couldn't get any better, he added a finger and she began to fly higher. He added a third and began pumping faster until she was grasping the sheets with both hands, her eyes squeezed shut.

He stopped suddenly and Alayna whimpered at the loss of contact. Her eyes flew open to make sure he was still with her and he smiled reassuringly at her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and moving to lie atop her, most of his weight rested on his arms.

"Are you ready? It might hurt." he whispered. Alayna's eyes shone with love as she nodded and grabbed Jasper's face in her hands, bringing his lips to her own in a sweet kiss. He positioned himself at her entrance and kissed her at the same time he pushed into her, hoping to soften the pain. She squeaked a little and Jasper froze.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked. Alayna shook her head before throwing it back.

"Feels so _good_," she panted, getting used to the glorious feeling of him inside her. He slowly pulled out before pushing back in, trying to keep his thrusts slow, waiting for her to adjust. All he was really doing was frustrating her. Alayna locked her ankles together behind his back and arched up, taking all of him in forcefully.

"Faster!" she moaned until his pace was something she could agree with. They both finished quickly, releasing together and flying high due to Jasper's inability to keep his emotions to himself and Alayna's losing her hold over the wall she'd put up to keep from hearing others' thoughts.

Jasper's arms could barely hold him up, so he wrapped them around Alayna and flipped them so she lay atop him once again.

"I love you," she whispered, the arm she'd placed on his chest moving up to play with his curly blonde hair. Her love for him shone in her eyes as he looked down into them. He kissed her sweetly before smiling at her.

"I love you too," he said. "Forever and always."

* * *

**Brownie points if you can tell me where I stole the name Carlotta from ;)  
If you still have questions, now is the time to ask them, because the epilogue is next and it doesn't (to my knowledge) contain any substantial answers.  
**

**xo Ana  
**


	21. A Happy Ending

**A/N: THIS IS THE EPILOGUEEEE. I can't believe I've finally finished.. I feel so empty haha.. I'm working on an All Human story right now, but it's super slow coming. I like to finish my stories before I post them because I never know if I really WILL finish them.. You'll probably see a few random one-shots from me before I post another full story.  
xo Ana  


* * *

**

I stand in the doorway of my old bedroom, staring at it sadly with my golden eyes. It's been months since Rosalie, Alice and Jasper successfully 'stole' me away from the Volturi's hands. I don't need to be Jasper to tell you that the fear instilled in each of us hasn't died down. We all know there's no way that this the end of the ordeal when I had been so key to them, even for a short period of time.

On another note, I know I have to do something with my aunt's house. I don't want to have to sell it- I have always loved that house- but I don't see how I can keep it. Sighing, I walk forward and flop onto the green and yellow bed like I had so many times as a human. I twist the beautiful engagement ring around on my left ring finger and can't help but smile a little when I think about the man I get to keep forever.

Hearing The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" playing from my pocket, I dig my phone out. My old one had been destroyed in the fight against James, so Jasper had bought me a new one. It was nothing special- much to my delight and Jasper's chagrin. He had wanted to buy me a new, top-of-the-line phone, but when I had spotted a cute little bright blue flip phone, I used my "you love me, don't you?" pout to get him to change his mind. I flip it open to see who's calling.

"Hello?" I answer.

"It's me." Emmett's voice sounds whiny.

"What's up, Em?" I ask, biting my lip against a laugh. I already have an idea of what's coming.

"I'm bored!" Emmett wails, his whine reaching its full potential. I let my laugh out, mostly because that is exactly what I've been expecting.

"I'm at the house," I tell him. Emmett huffs.

"No you're not, I looked everywhere and when I called Jasper, he said he didn't know you left."

"I'm at_ my_ house, Em," I say softly. "I'm still trying to decide what to do." The noise Emmett makes next makes me feel like he understands.

"I can be there in five," he offers.

"Please?" I hang up and almost stick my phone back into my pocket when it beeps obnoxiously.

**Jasper: **_Where are you?_

**Alayna: **_My house._

**Jasper: **_Want some company?_

**Alayna: **_Emmett's actually on his way over. I'll see you at three though, love._

Because of my prolonged absence and sudden physical changes, I had quickly decided against the idea of going back to school when I got back to Forks. Id take the exams at the end of the classes I was registered for though, keeping me right in check for ending junior year on time and graduating the next year with Bella, Edward and Alice. Instead of me going to school, one of the Cullen 'children' picked a day of the week and stayed home with Esme and me. Since there were five of them, it worked that each school day, one of the Cullen children was missing. Esme hated the idea, and said often how she was just waiting for someone to notice.

Bella had healed nicely and was back in school with them, although she still didn't much like the idea of humanism. I haven't seen her yet, due much to Edward's fierce protectiveness. I don't blame my new 'brother', though. He's doing what he has to in order to keep his love safe. If I'm being honest, I don't much like the idea of being around Bella just yet, anyway. I have yet to test my thirst on humans and I'm not thrilled with the idea of Bella as a trial.

"Hey." Emmett flops carefully onto the other side of my large bed. I jump. I've been so lost in thought that I haven't noticed Emmett come in the house, let alone my room. I've always been close to Emmett, but I found in the months after my return, I have a new bond with him that neither of us can even begin to explain. In addition to my obvious ability to read and manipulate minds, it seemed that Emmett somehow knows most of what I want to say before it reaches my lips.

"Hey," I say back, staring up at the ceiling.

"What would she want you to do?" he asks after a long silence.

"I don't know. What would you want your niece to do with your house after you died?" Emmett makes a weird noise and I turn my head to look at him. He's got an uncomfortable look on his face.

"Don't think of it like that, Lay," he pleads. "She's in a better place." I turn my head back to stare upwards.

"At least she didn't live to see me change," I comment, trying to sound like that was the upside. Even though I can't see it, I know Emmett rolled his eyes at me.

"I don't think she'd much care," he says honestly. "I think she knew long ago what we were, she was just operating on the 'don't-give-me-details' frame of mind."

"It's possible," I say thoughtfully. "She and Carlisle were great friends." Emmett gives a low chuckle that rumbles the bed a little.

"She was one of the only people besides Esme who told Carlisle exactly what she was thinking exactly when she was thinking it." I smile. That sounds like how my mom used to be, too.

My phone makes that awful noise again and I pull it from her pocket. I'm still not used to the speed that vampires can use, so I often do things at a more human pace. Carlisle applauds me for it, telling me it will be easier to go back to school- if I choose to go back. I flip the phone open to find its screen reading "1 New Message".

**Alice: **_Keep it. You and Jasper will live there when we throw you out for being too loud all the time._

I look back at Emmett, showing him the screen.

"You never bet against Alice," he says with a smile. I look back at the screen and start a new text.

**Alayna: **_Are you saying this because you love my closet or because you've seen that I keep the house?_

Emmett, watching me type, lets out a snort when I hit 'send'.

**Alice: **_Both. Jasper says to tell you to come home. We've been here all of five seconds and he's already ready to come looking for you._

**Alayna:** _Stall him? We're on our way back._

**Alice:** _He says to say he misses you._

I turn to Emmett again, who hauls himself out of the bed. I do the same and together, we run home. Jasper is sitting on the front steps waiting when we get back. He walks out to meet us and immediately folds me in his embrace. I hug him back fiercely, still loving the fact that he feels warm to me now.

"Let's go inside," he murmurs. We break apart, our hands still interlaced, and I realize that Emmett has already gone inside. We walk up the drive and into the house, where the lights suddenly turn on.

"Happy birthday!" I know face must look ridiculous because the whole family laughs. Jasper stands by my side while everyone hugs me tightly.

"Aren't I not allowed to have birthdays anymore?" I ask Jasper in a low voice, aware everyone can hear me. Jasper just chuckles.

"When you live with Alice, you have lots of them." He kisses my cheek suddenly, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Happy birthday, love." I smile and look up at him.

"I love you, Jasper Whitlock" I say with a goofy smile on my face. His eyes twinkle just like the first time I ever told him I loved him. He reaches his lips down to mine, stopping just before they touch.

"I love you too, Alayna Roberts" he says, his voice low and deeply rooted in his southern accent. He finally brushes his lips against mine. I smile into the kiss, knowing this is where I get to be for the rest of forever.


End file.
